I Am Me
by Ventusblade
Summary: What if Kingdom Hearts was destroyed and Sora replaced it with his own heart? What would be the fate of the two boys within that heart? The answer; they are transported to Remnant and receive a second chance, a chance to live their own lives. Occurs after Kingdom Hearts 3. I do not own Kingdom Hearts, it belongs to Tetsuya Nomura, Square Enix, and Disney.
1. 1 - The End and The Beginning

AN: Hello everyone, Ventusblade here. If you haven't guessed from the two pen names I have used, I love the game series Kingdom Hearts. Yesterday, I had an idea for a story combing that with my other favorite thing, RWBY, and this is the product of that. If you're not a Kingdom Hearts fan and are confused by all the unfamiliar term and characters, I apologize. Anyway, as I said when I started my other new story with Ryan Roach, this shall not replace Garnet Rose. This will be an on the side project for when I have extra time. Enjoy!

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><p>(3rd Person POV)<p>

Sora struggled to hold up his keyblade as he faced his opponent in their decisive battle. Sora had no intention of being defeated, but Xehanort was overpowering him. He cast a quick glance at the giant heart-shaped moon floating in the sky, Kingdom Hearts, a source of unimaginable power. Xehanort grinned evilly, grasping the weapon created from the clashing of Light and Darkness, the Xiblade. With that weapon he could unlock Kingdom Hearts and control all the worlds in existence.

"Behold! The new age of Darkness begins!" Xehanort proclaimed aiming his weapon at the moon radiating with pure light, unlocking the power within it.

"No!" Desperately, Sora pointed his own weapon at the moon. Before he could convince himself against the idea, Sora shot a blast of light at the moon, causing it to shatter.

"You fool!" Xehanort screamed, falling to his knees as his plan crumbled before him. Without Kingdom Hearts, he would never have the power he desired. "Do you know what you have done?"

Seeing his chance to end the fight, Sora rushed forwards, running through the Seeker of Darkness with his keyblade. Xehanort gave Sora a small eerie smile. " Enjoy your hollow victory boy." Then the old man disintegrated into nothing.

_What now? Kingdom Hearts is destroyed. Without it the worlds will fall into darkness, _a voice inside Sora's head questioned.

"I don't know, Roxas!" _Think, Sora. Think!_ And idea struck. Sora lifted his keyblade, pointing it at his own heart.

_What are you doing?! _Demanded another voice inside Sora.

"I'm sorry Ventus. I'm going to give up the light in my heart to replace Kingdom Hearts.

_That's insane! _Roxas tried to reason, but Sora didn't lower his weapon.

_We're in your heart too! If you do this we'll- _Sora quickly cut off the boy in his heart.

"I know!" Sora snapped. "You'll disappear too." Sora hated to do this to the two in his heart, but there was no other choice. He could either give up his heart, or let the worlds fall to darkness.

_NO! I don't want to disappear again!_ Roxas choked, sounding on the verge of tears. _Please, don't let me disappear again!_ Roxas begged.

Sora shut his eyes, trying to ignore the intense guilt he felt. "I'm sorry Roxas." He turned his keyblade releasing his heart and the two boys within.

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><p>(Ventus POV)<p>

My head felt like it was about to explode. I laid on the cold ground moaning in pain as I clutched my head. _Wait, ground?_ I opened my eyes slowly.

The first thing I saw was a castle-like building. The building had multiple towers, but what stood out most was the tower in the center. That tower was taller than all the others, and has holding a large green crystal radiating with light like a beacon.

"Where am I?" I asked as I tried, unsuccessfully, to get to my feet, my legs screaming in protest. I glanced around the area once more as my brained tried to process the information.

I was kneeling on a paved road or path, there was a castle type building in front of me, and a boy who looked almost exactly like me was lying next to me. The boy was identical to me, same face, same spiky bond hair swept up to the side in a perpetual bed head. It took my brain a few seconds to register the significance of the latest piece of information.

_Roxas!_ I shook my "twin's" shoulder in an attempt to rouse him, but it was no use. Roxas was completely out and showed no signs of waking up any time soon. To make matters worse, I heard voices approaching. I quickly put myself in front of Roxas and tried to summon my keyblade. Despite not having summoned the weapon since I merged with Sora's heart, the wing shaped blade came to my hand as easily as breathing. I held up Wayward Wing tiredly, ready to protect my unconscious companion.

I saw a pair of legs clad in high black boots and black stockings. "Jaune, go get help." A high-pitched, female voice commanded. "Are you okay?" it sounded like she was asking me, but I couldn't find my voice. I felt my grasp on Wayward Wing slipping and the world started going dark. The last thing I heard was the sound of my weapon hitting the hard ground.

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><p>(Ruby POV, Five Minutes Before)<p>

So far my first day at the most prestigious training academy for hunters and huntresses was off to a horrible start. Upon arriving at Beacon, my big sister had abandoned me, I'd tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then I had exploded. Well, not really exploded, more caused dust to react by sneezing, but that caused a big explosion. Now I was lying on the cold ground, completely depressed with how the day was going.

"Need a hand?" I looked up to see a boy with blonde hair offering me his hand. He was wearing a black hoodie with an orange hood, a white breastplate and shoulder gaurds, brown fingerless gloves, two belts in an X shape, and a pair of normal blue jeans. On one of his belts was what looked like an average sheathed sword.

_Finally, someone friendly. _I smiled, grabbing the boy's hand as he hoisted me to my feet. "Thanks. I'm Ruby."

"The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tounge. The ladies love it." Jaune gave me a wink upon saying the last part of his introduction. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Do they?" Before Jaune could answer, something behind me caught his eye.

"Have those two guys been lying there this entire time?" _What two guys?_ _ I was the only one over here. _I turned around to see two identical looking boys lying on the ground. It was as if they had appeared out of nowhere.

Everything from their faces to their heights looked like mirror images of one another. Even their messy spikes of blonde hair were styled exactly the same. The only distinguishing feature between the two boys was how they were dressed. One was wearing a hooded black coat that came down to his ankles. The bottom of the coat was unzipped revealing a pair of large black shoes and black pants. On each hand, he wore a black glove.

The other boy was wearing a windbreaker that was white on one side and black on the other side, a black high collared shirt underneath his coat, a pair of black and grey pants, and shoes that had some sort of armor on various parts. On his left shoulder was a small metal shoulder guard. Finally, the boy wore one black and white checkered bracelet on his left wrist.

"Do you think they need any help?" I asked Juane. Neither boy was moving, which was pretty concerning.

"Yeah, I think they could use some," Jaune decided. "Besides, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." When Jaune and I started approaching, the boy who wasn't wearing the long coat, I decided to call him Blonde #1 until I learned his real name, opened his eyes and began looking around. His eyes were deep blue, and a number of different emotions were painted in them. Among them, I saw confusion and fear.

Without warning, Blonde #1 reached out his hand and a strange looking sword materialized. _Well that's not something you see everyday._ He immediately put himself in front of the other boy, as if to protect him from Jaune and I.

"Jaune, go get help," I said forcefully

"Got it." Jaune began sprinting toward the school's main building.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked Blonde #1, trying to sound as gentle as possible. His response was to drop his sword and pass out. "I guess not," I said rushing to check on him. Luckily he was still breathing. When I reached to retrieve his sword, it wasn't there anymore. _This just keeps getting weirder. _

Moments later Jaune reappeared with a few teachers in tow. Together we were able to move the two unconscious blondes to Beacons' medical ward, where both were placed on hospital beds and checked by the nurses on duty.

"They're fine, just exhausted," one nurse informed Jaune and I. "Do you two know them?"

Jaune and I shook our heads. "Never seen them before."

The nurse sighed. "Alright. Come back in a little while, they'll probably be awake by the time the headmaster's opening remarks are over. When they're awake, you can take them to see the headmaster." With that, Jaune and I began to leave. As I was exiting the room, I heard the boy in black mutter one sentence.

"Please, don't let me disappear."

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><p>AN: Well, how'd you like that? I think it was actually pretty half decent. As always, give me some feedback and I will happily kiss your feet, reply, which ever. Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.<p>

-Ventusblade


	2. 2 - A Condition of the Heart

AN: Hello everyone! I'm proud to present chapter two of I Am Me. So far, I plan on keeping chapters rather short since this is more just an on the side, fun project, since I'm pretty busy at the moment. That doesn't mean I will neglect this though, it's far too much fun for that. I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it!

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><p><strong>(Roxas POV)<strong>

I found myself standing in a plain white room. The only item in the room was a pod in the center of the room. I immediately recognized this place as the room inside the abandoned mansion where I had merged with my other half, Sora. That was the day I had stopped existing.

_What's going on? _I felt like running, but my legs refused to move. _I don't want to disappear again!_ I felt panic rising in my chest as I desperately looked around the almost empty room. What I saw behind me made my breath catch in my throat. Standing behind me were the people who had been my best friends, Xion and Axel. Both wore their black organization coats, the same as the one I wore, as they laughed together.

"Axel! Xion!" My tall friend with spiky red hair and the raven-haired girl showed no sign of having heard me. "Guys, it's me. It's Roxas!" I desperately reached out to the two standing in front of me as they turned to face me. I smiled widely seeing my two best friends again. "What are you guys doing here?" I questioned, still smiling. Instead of answering my question, my friends walked toward me and disappeared into thin air.

"No, come back! Please!" I felt tears in my eyes, as I stared at the spot where my only friends had stood. Then the pod began opening, revealing Sora sleeping within. I felt my hand tingling and looked down to see that my hand was now transparent. "I won't disappear again…" I whispered. "I am me. Nobody else!" I screamed in vain.

Why was I reacting this way? I'm a Nobody, a being without a heart or the ability to feel genuine emotions. I had no right to exist in the first place. Still, I wanted to be me. I wanted a chance to be a real person, to laugh, to cry, and above all to exist.

"Why?" My question lingered in the air as I vanished, returning to the real me, to Sora.

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><p>"Roxas! Roxas, wake up!"<p>

I opened my eyes cautiously, squinting as light blinded me. When I was able to see, I noticed that I was lying on a bed in a plain white room similar to the room I had seen. _Had that been a dream? _Suddenly I saw a mirror image of myself inches from my face.

"Gah!" I flew back, falling off the bed and crashing painfully to the ground. The other me rushed to help me up.

"Are you ok? You were talking in your sleep." My brain rushed to figure out was what going on. _Ok Roxas. What's the last thing you remember?_

I reviewed what I could remember. Sora had been fighting Xehanort, who unlocked Kingdom Hearts. Sora then destroyed Kingdom Hearts and released his heart with Ventus and I inside it.

"Ventus!" I exclaimed in recognition. Ventus smiled, offering me a hand.

"Do you know anyone else with this handsome face? Faces like this are one in a million," Ven joked.

"Make that two in a million," I replied, still glancing around the room. The only things I noticed were a few beds that looked like those you would find in a hospital. "Any idea where we are?"

"I think we're in another world," Ven began. "After Sora did you know what, I woke up in front of a castle like building. The good news is I think the people are friendly. They're the ones who brought us in here."

"How did we get to another world?" I asked. "Shouldn't we have disappeared with Sora?" Ventus just shrugged. "Well, can you at least summon your keyblade?"

"Surprisingly, yeah. How 'bout you?" I reached out my hand, grasping in the air. To my relief a white key shaped sword appeared in my hand. I looked at Oathkeeper affectionately, inspecting every inch of it, from its handle resembling two angel wings to the teeth of the key, which were fashioned after the kanji symbol for light. Then I reached out my other hand. As I expected, a black keyblade, Oblivion appeared in my hand. Unlike Oathkeeper, Oblivion's handle resembled bat wings and the teeth on the blade were fasioned af the kanji symbol for darkness.

"Yeah, I've got mine too," I noted happily, sending my two weapons back. Seeing no reason to stay in the room, I made my way to the door. However, Ventus grabbed my wrist to stop me.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know. I just can't stay in here, it's too much like a place I know..." With that I attempted to leave only to run directly into someone who was entering, smashing our heads together. I jerked back, clutching my head as the girl I had rammed into did the same. I looked up to complain, but my voice froze when I got a clear look at the girl.

She was wearing a black top, a mainly black skirt with red trim, a belt with a silver rose insignia attached to the front, black stockings and boots that came up almost to her knees, and a red hooded cloak. What stood out most to me were her jet-black hair with red highlights and her familiar looking face. I froze, staring at the familiar looking girl.

"X-Xion?" I ventured hopefully, praying that this girl could somehow be the friend I had known. The girl gave me a confused look.

"I'm sorry, but I think you're confusing me with someone." An older girl with long blonde hair appeared behind the first girl, also fixing me with a confused expression. She wore an orange scarf around her neck, a brown low-cut coat showing her midriff, a yellow undershirt with a flame insignia, brown shorts along with a belt with pouches attached, brown knee-high boots with orange socks, and a blue bandana tied above her left boot.

I flipped up my hood feeling my cheeks burning and took a few steps back, allowing Ventus to take charge of the situation. "Hi, I'm Ventus. Call me Ven. The guy in the hood is Roxas." Ventus greeted the two new comers, introducing him and me.

"Nice to meet you Ven and Roxas. I'm Ruby," said the black haired girl with a friendly smile on her face.

"I'm Yang." The older girl introduced herself as she inspected Ven and I. For some reason, when Yang stared at me I felt like a piece of meat. "So why were you two lying unconscious in front of the school?" _So that's what this place is._ Yang paused for a moment. "How old are you two?" She added that last part almost as an after thought.

Ven and I shared a quick look. "Do you want the truth or the believable answer?" Ven asked the two girls.

"How about the truth," Ruby decided.

"Well, I'm probably three," I announced, trying to ignore the looks of disbelief.

Ventus thought for a second before answering. "I think I'm twenty-four, but I could be wrong."

Yang and Ruby were silent for a considerable length of time as they tried to figure what Ven and I had said. I didn't blame them. Both Ventus and I looked about fifteen, but due to "special circumstances" our ages differed from our looks. Ventus had spent about ten years inside Sora, where he hadn't aged, and I only came into existence about three years ago when Sora became a Heartless for a brief period of time.

"On second thought, let's go with the other option." Yang declared, still giving Ventus and I strange stares.

"In that case we're both fifteen," I informed to the two girls.

"Hey, if we're just choosing approximate ages can I be fourteen?" Ven asked me with false seriousness. I assumed he was just trying to confuse Ruby and Yang.

"Sure, why not," I replied, grinning slightly.

Ruby, having no idea how to react to Ven's and my antics, decided to move on. "So, why were you two passed out in front of the school?"

"Honestly, we have no idea." Ven scratched the back of his head sheepishly, tellin only part of the truth. Ruby probably wouldn't have believed the full story anyway.

"That's fine," Yang assured us, probably trying to make things easier on us. "We're supposed to take you to meet Beacon's headmaster, Professor Ozpin. Are you guys ok to move around?"

Ven nodded. "Lead the way."

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><p><strong>(Yang POV)<strong>

As I lead the two identical looking boys toward Ozpin's office, my mind reviwed the information I'd learned about them, which wasn't much. So far I had gathered that Ven was the more sociable of the two. He seemed quick to accept others and was often smiling. Roxas on the other hand, had the look of someone who had been abandoned or hurt before. He eyed me with...distrust and hesitated to even speak. Also, Roxas had thought Ruby was someone called Xion, but who was Xion?

Probably the most confusing part was their ages. How could Roxas be three? It wasn't physically possible, he looked just as old as Ruby and obvioulsy wasn't a toddler. Had Ventus and Roxas just been trying to make a joke?

"So," Ventus began, drawing me out of my thoughts. "How do you and Ruby know each other?"

"We're sisters," I explained, wrapping an arm around my little sister, but Ruby gently shoved me away.

"C'mon sis," she complained, her face slightly red as she glanced back at Roxas who was at the back of our small group. _Oh for the love of dust._"Are you and Roxas twins?" I asked. The two looked like mirror images of each other, even down to the last spikey lock of blonde hair.

"No." Roxas replied simply. I was about to delve further into the topic, when Roxas stopped suddenly, grabbing his chest.

"Roxas, you alright?" Ven asked his quiet companion, casting nervous glances at Ruby and I.

"I felt something in my chest." _This is getting really weird._

"You mean your heart?" Ruby asked slowly, confused by the boy's extreme reaction to a vital body function.

We had reached the door to the professor's office, but I intended to try and get an answer from Roxas. "Do you have some sort of heart condition or something?" Roxas burst into laughter, causing everyone to stare at him in confusion and/or surprise.

"You could call it that," Roxas said, trying to stifle his laughter enougth to answer. "It's more of a lack of a heart condition." Roxas chuckled at his own joke, but Ventus gave him a warning flare. It was pretty obvious that they were trying to hide something.

"Well, is this the place,?" Ventus asked quickly eager to change the topic.

I eyed his suspiciously. "Yup this is the place." I opened the door and lead them inside.

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><p>AN: And that's the end of chapter two! In the next chapter we'll meet Ozpin and plot will ensue. Don't worry, I have some stuff planned, but I'm alway happy to have reader input. So if there's anything you really want me to write, write a review or send me a PM. I promise to get back to you as soon as I can. Now, on to reviews.<p>

-DragonDude23 - First of all, I actually remember watching American Dragon as a kid. Great fricking show. Anyway, I'm glad you think this is cool. I was replaying Birth By Sleep on proud mode (I beat Ventus' story in 10 hours. I was very proud. See what I did there?), and I decided that Roxas and Ventus never got the proper amount of attention. So this is how I intend to show them some love. As for making more soon, wish granted! Thanks for the support!

And with that I leave you with some wise words. Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


	3. 3 - The Students That Never Were

AN: Hello everyone, Ventusblade here. First, I've decided that this story will mainly be from Roxas' perspective. I don't have anything against Ventus, but Roxas is my favorite character. That's not to say I won't switch up the perspective every now and then to keep thing fresh. Now, let's move on to chapter three, shall we? Enjoy!

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><p><strong>(Roxas POV)<strong>

There have been times in my short life when I have felt levels of discomfort that normal people can only dream of. There was the time I asked Xion if I had pressed her buttons, which had been an...interesting conversation. There was the time I learned that I didn't have a heart. And there was the time someone had told me that I didn't have the right to exist. This one interaction with Beacon's headmaster was much worse than all of those events combined into one large monster of discomfort.

Ventus and I sat across from the green eyed and gray haired man whose presence and aura of confidence made me want to shrink back into my coat. In the room with us stood Ruby and Yang, but they did nothing to dampen the harsh silence. Instead they just stood there, waiting for the headmaster to begin speaking.

"You two had us worried," the headmaster began, foregoing his own introduction. "You both were asleep for an entire day."

"Only a day?" Ven and I asked in unison, earning surprised looks from the room's other occupants. To Ven and me, sleeping through a day was nothing. Back when I had been part of the Organization I had passed out for about two weeks. Not to mention Ventus who had been asleep for years.

The nameless headmaster was willing to overlook our small outburst. "In any event, my name is Professor Ozpin. I assume you already know that I am in charge of this school. Would you mind telling me about yourselves?" Ven motioned for me to go first. I sighed, but began talking.

"My name is Roxas. To simplify things, let's just say I'm fifteen years old." I didn't want to divulge any needless information to a person in a position of power, so I tried to end my introduction.

"I believe you spoke about some type of heart condition with Miss Xiao Long and Miss Rose. Would you please explain that?" _Damn, how did he know about that?_ I shot Ventus a nervous glance, seeking any type of backup or guidance. Ven gave me a curt shake of his head. I got the message.

"Sorry sir, I was just making a joke." _Please buy that.  
><em>  
>Ozpin looked over the spectacles sitting on the bridge of his nose. "Is that so?" He didn't seem to believe my answer, but he was willing to drop the subject, allowing me some breathing room. "What type of weapon do you use? Since you are at BeaconAcademy I assume you wish to become a hunter."<p>

"I use a sword, but most of the time I dual wield." I paused for a moment before deciding that I had no idea what Ozpin was talking about. "What's a hunter?" Ruby and Yang acted as though that was the dumbest question they had ever heard. _What? Is that supposed to be common knowledge?_

"A hunter," Ozpin began in a steady tone, "is a trained warrior tasked with defending our world." He turned to Ruby and Yang who were still standing by the door, watching the conversation unfold. "You two may return to your team for the time being. Thank you for alerting me of our two young guests." With that the two girls left, leaving Ven and I alone with the green eyed headmaster. "Where were we? Ah yes, worlds. Now, which do you come from?" Neither Ven nor I could hide the surprised looks on our faces. _How does he know about other worlds?_

Ozpin smiled at our startled reactions. He knew he'd won this verbal contest; there wasn't any point in us trying to hide anything any more. Ventus shrugged in defeat. "I'm from the Land of Departure."

"The World that Never Was," I answered simply. That piece of information wouldn't be of any use to him anyway, so I didn't see the harm in telling him.

Ozpin eyed us with interest, as though we were a new species he was researching. "If you are not from this world, how did you arrive here?" Ventus and I remained silent, unable to answer the question. "Well, no matter. The important thing is that you're here. Could you tell me a bit more about yourselves, just with a little more openness this time around?"

Ventus and I dove into our complex histories. We explained our weapons, the keyblade, which chooses its wielder based on the strength of their heart. Ventus told Ozpin about how he lost part of his heart and slept for ten years as the result.

I explained that I'm a Nobody, a being born without a heart or the ability to feel real emotions, and that I'm technically three years old. However I left out the part about having felt something in my chest earlier. We also left out the battle with Xehanort for Kingdom Hearts, since there was no point in involving non-keyblade wielders. That would only have caused them needless worry over something that was already finished. I felt a flare of guilt when I remembered Sora's sacrifice. _Why was Sora the only one to disappear? _I quickly dispelled the thought, saving it for when Ventus and I could talk privately.

Beacon's headmaster sat quietly until Ventus and I were finished with our explanation. After a few moments of silence the headmaster spoke. "While I cannot offer you any assistance in returning to your own worlds, I can offer you a place at my school. Though, because you are too young," he stared pointedly at me, "I cannot make you official students. Still, if I deem your abilities sufficient I can give you the same privileges as an official student. Tomorrow I will send you into the EmeraldForest with one our first year teams, Team JNPR. Until then you may rest or explore the campus."

"Thank you very much Professor." Ventus smiled at the apparently kind hearted man.

Ozpin returned the smile, but there was a strange glimmer in his eyes. "Don't thank me until after the test."

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><p>Ventus and I walked quietly through the halls of Beacon's dorm, searching for room thirteen. Finally, Ventus couldn't stand the silence any longer. "It's pretty awesome to have a body again, isn't it?" Ventus closed his hand into a fist with a satisfied smile.<p>

"C'mon Ven, it's just a body," I replied, trying to hide the fact that I shared his excitement. Honestly, I was ecstatic to have my own body again. I could finally go where I wanted when I wanted, and best of all other people could see me and interact with me.

"Geez Roxas, I was hoping my other would be a little more upbeat." Ven elbowed me in the side, laughing slightly. He knew I was just as excited as he was.

"Fine, it's pretty great," I admitted as we walked up to room thirteen. "But, I'm a little nervous about tomorrow's test. I mean, when was the last time you actually fought?" I opened the door to our dorm room and walked in, Ventus following close behind me. The room was very simple and sparely furnished. There were four beds, a desk, a bathroom, and a large window overlooking a forest.

Ventus flopped down on a bed, sighing contently. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll be fine. After all, all you did for an entire year was fighting. If you really want some practice we can spar a bit before the test."

"Sounds like a plan." Ventus flipped me a thumbs up from his bed as he yawned. I laughed at my twin's laid back attitude. "Get some sleep. You won't be any help if you're falling asleep during a fight." Ventus yawned in response and turned onto his side. Soon I heard his breathing become more pronounced. I chuckled. "That was fast. Well, I might as well follow suit." I choose one of the remaining three beds and laid down, not bothering to get under the covers or take off my coat. Before long I was dead to the world.

I awoke to light pouring into the dorm from the large window. I blinked multiple times as my eyes adjusted to the influx of light. As I was stretching, I noticed that Ventus was already up and ready to go. He flashed me an energetic smile. "Ready to spar?" _Where does his energy come from?_

I yawned once more before finally getting off the soft bed. _Worry not my soft friend, I shall be back. _"Sure, let's just try not to break anything." Ventus looked away, attempting an innocent expression.

"Who, me?" I shook my head. _No the third person in the room._

"Let's just find an open area." With that the two of us left the room.

We ended up in a large, open area near a cliff overlooking the forest. Ventus and I summoned our respective weapons, Ventus holding Wayward Wing in his signature backhand grip as I raised Oathkeeper and Oblivion. I tensed, nervous about how quickly my body would react to my commands.

"Go!" And like that our practice began. All my fear evaporated, giving way to instinct.

I dashed forward, my keyblades trailing behind me, hoping to get in an attack before Ventus could react. I brought my keyblades forward, gaining an extra burst of speed as I slashed at Ventus. Unfortunately Ventus wasn't there any more. _Where'd he go?_ I heard a barely audible noise above me, and jumped into the air.

I strung together a barrage of strikes as Ventus tried to block in mid air. I flipped, knocking Ventus back to earth with my weapons. Ventus hit the ground and rolled as I threw Oathkeeper at the spot where he had been. Now it was his turn.

Ventus closed his eyes in concentration. His eyes flew back open and he yelled a single word. "Drift!" I felt myself become weightless, completely defenseless from the impending attack. Ventus paid me back for my earlier combo in full, slashing at me from all directions as I helplessly floated. Finally the magic wore off and I fell back to the ground, batter and exhausted.

Ventus began charging as I focused the last of my energy into the tips of my blades. As the energy flowed into the weapons, they began glowing with light blue. "Hmph, nice try." I let the energy flow free as I attacked mercilessly with my limit break, my power and speed increasing exponentially. I smiled, this fight was mine. _It's good to be at 100%._ Then my knee buckled, causing me to trip and slide on the ground. Oathkeeper and Oblivion flew from my grasp, and disappeared in bursts of light and shadows.

"That really hurt," I moaned. _Ok, make that 75%._ Ventus dispelled Wayward Wind and came over to help me up. It would have been a nice gesture if he hadn't been laughing like me tripping was the funniest thing in the world. "Thanks for the concern," I scolded bitterly, rubbing my sore back.

"Sorry, but that was hilarious!" Ven exclaimed, wiping a tear out of his eye. I shook my head and kicked Ven's legs out from under him.

"There, now we're even." I turned around, leaving Ven on the ground, only to find a group of four people staring at us. There were two guys and two girls, all older than Ven and me by at least two years.

One of the older boys had straight blonde hair and was standing at the front of the group. He was wearing a black hoodie with an orange hood, a white breastplate and shoulder gaurds, brown fingerless gloves, two belts in an X shape, and a pair of normal blue jeans. On one of his belts was what looked like an average sheathed sword. "Um, hi." I silently nodded, wishing that the newcomers would stop staring at me. "I'm Juane."

The other boy stepped forward to introduce himself. "I'm Ren." Ren had jet black hair bound in a long ponytail that reached down his back with a single stripe of bright pink on part of his bangs in front of his eyes. His eyes matched the stripe in his hair and held a calm and collected look. He wore an elaborate dark green robe-looking overcoat with golden stripes and ties for decoration. He also wore a black undershirt, judging from the long black sleeves extending out from the boy's overcoat. Finally, he wore a pair of dull white pants. "The girl hopping up and down next to me is Nora," Ren said, introducing the energetic girl beside him.

Nora had vibrant orange hair and was wearing a white shirt with a small heart shaped cut out on the chest with high-collared torso armor and a pink skirt. She had blue, sparkling eyes, overflowing with energy and a smile that reflected that energy. "Hello!" She exclaimed. _She's like a female Sora._

Finally, standing beside Juane was a red headed girl dressed like an amazon warrior. Her long scarlet hair was tied in ponytail, held back by a bronze headband. Her armor was similar to that of an amazon from a fairytale. She wore a bronze colored chest piece and a short skirt with some type of cape attached to it. In addition to her breastplate she wore almost full-length armor ending right before her purple boots began. Finally she had an arm guard on her left forearm. "Hello, I'm Pyrrha."

"Nice to meet all of you," Ventus greeted the group. "I'm Ventus, but you can call me Ven. And the guy in the coat is…" Ventus prompted me to introduce myself.

"Roxas," I said, filling in the blank. The group didn't seem like bad people, it's just that I'd spent so much time trying to stay hidden from people during missions that it was hard to adjust to being social.

"It's nice to meet you Roxas and Ven. We're team JNPR. Professor Ozpin asked us to lead you through the forest for a small test. You ready to go?" Jaune asked. Ven and I nodded. "Great! You see the edge of the cliff? We're going to jump off that."

"And by jump you mean…" Jaune had to be insane. The drop was at least a few hundred feet.

Pyrrha smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but it's part of the test. Don't worry. Based on how you two were fighting before, you should be fine. We'll be taking the path down, so we'll meet you at the bottom."

"Good luck!" Nora burst before skipping away to said path. The rest of her team followed close behind.

"This is going to be so much fun!" I could only stare at my twin in disbelief.

"Ven, this isn't NeverLand! We can't fly here!" I reasoned, but it was like talking to a brick wall. Without another word, Ven sprinted toward the cliff and flung himself into the air. I sighed as I began to run. "Sometimes I really hate myself," I muttered, marveling at the stupidity of what I was about to do.

I was steadily approaching the cliff at a full out sprint. _Three, two, one. _I jumped off the cliff, wondering how my day had taken this turn of events.

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><p>AN: Well, that was fun to write. So if you didn't notice during the fight scene, Ven and Roxas will be using magic in this story. Also Ven will probably use Special Commands, like Fever Pitch, and Roxas already used one of his limit breaks. All those things should make for some cool fights. Anyway, let's move on to the reviews.<p>

-Symbolic Joker – 1) This story, like all my stories, is in first person because that's my favorite point of view. It allows the reader to more directly experience the characters' thoughts and emotions. But, sorry about the confusion I'll bold when I change perspective from now on. 2) I actually have a different theory as to why Roxas can dual wield. Xion borrowed Roxas' power and was able to use the keyblade. When she returned to Sora, she probably returned Roxas' power, thus allowing him to use her keyblade. 3) Honestly I have no idea at the moment, but I don't think Roxas and Ven will be joining a team. 4) I don't have any schedule. I just release when the chapter is done.

-Guest1 – I know that a lot of people really like Sora, but I think he gets too much attention. I'm not saying he's a bad character (even though I don't really like him), it's just nice to give other really good characters a moment in the spotlight.

-Ryan Roach – What's up Roach? Glad you like the story so far.

-DragonDude23 – Hello again. Thanks for sending me the PM with your ideas, I really appreciated it. Hope you enjoyed the preview of this chapter that I sent you. If you ever get any more ideas or suggestions, don't hesitate to send them to me.

A big thank you goes out to everyone who has favorited or followed this story. Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


	4. Announcement 1 (Get used to these)

How everyone doing? It's Ventusblade here with a few quick announcements. One, thank you all for following and favoriting this story. You have no idea how much it means to me to see that you guys like my work, so thank you! Two, I have some ideas that I want to run by you guys because if there's one thing I love, it's reader input. So my first idea is including Xion in the story. That's definitely going to happen so get excited for it! My other idea is possibly including Axel and some of the other keyblade wielders, like Aqua and Terra). I'm not sure about that one, so what do you think?

Next, I answered all of your reviews from the last chapter in PMs, so not everyone could see every answer. As such, I'm going to rewrite all the answers here so you can all see them and get edumatcated (yes edumacated).

-The Eternal Forgotten - First of all, I saw your profile and you're a pretty funny dude. Moving on, I completely agree. Roxas is such an awesome character and it's sad to just see M-rated Roxas X Axel stories. So I hope this one glimmer of hope helps give Roxas fans (such as myself) some joy. Thanks for the support!

-lioncousin - Glad you like the idea. I was really annoyed when Roxas lost his body and merged with Sora, and then I went ballistic when Nomura-san did the same exact thing with my second favorite character, Ventus. Anyway, I do suggest you watch RWBY just since it's an interesting show. Thanks for the support and I'll try to finish chapter 4 as soon as I can.

-Symbolic Joker - Honestly, I didn't think about why Ozpin knows about other worlds, I just thought it would be cool if he did. Don't worry, I'll find a plausible enough reason. But about volume 2, while I do try to stick to the cannon plot of RWBY, this story will be a little more lax with that. My story in which I really try to follow the cannon plot is my most popular story, Garnet Rose: Another Side, which is on its sixteenth chapter so feel free to check it out. Finally, yup, Sora is even greedier with hearts than Xemnas. And with that, I thank you for your support.

-DragonDude23 - I'm glad that you're loving the story. It's been a lot of fun to write, but definitely on the final limit. I'm going to work my way up to that though since I don't want Roxas to start off as incredibly over powered. He's going to start with his basic limit brake and work his way up from there. 358/2 Days introduced me to the series and it's my favorite. You know how it is with "first game syndrome". Anyway, thanks for the continued support!

So that's all I have to say for the moment. I am currently working on chapter four, but it's nowhere near ready. Sorry. I hope you can forgive my general lazziness. Well, I'll see you all later once chapter 4 is done! Don't forget to give me any and all question, comments, concerns, what color Roxas' underwear should be, whatever. Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


	5. 4 - How could you be so Heartless?

AN: Hey all, Ventusblade here. I proudly present chapter 4 of I Am Me. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>(Roxas POV)<strong>

I am no stranger from jumping off stupidly tall objects. I've jumped off a skyscraper, bridges, small cliffs, and even a clock tower. Well, I fell off of that one, but it's pretty much the same thing. With all that experience I'd like to imagine that jumping off a cliff at a height that almost surely meant death would be no problem.

"AHHH!" Instead I was screaming like a little girl. Ventus on the other hand was having a blast.

"Roxas, close your mouth!" He yelled over the roar of the wind. "You're gonna catch a bug!" _Figures. His name is based off the Latin word for wind._Ven summoned Wayward Wind and used a spell as we were rapidly approaching the ground. "Slow!" Suddenly we were moving at a snail's pace.

"Ven, remind me why the hell we just jumped off a cliff." I was pretty annoyed by the beginning of our test.

"We have to pass this test to be accepted into Beacon," Ven explained, relaxing as we slowly descended. When we were about five feet from the ground Ven spoke again. "You do know that Slow only decreases your speed, not the force you had, right?"

"Meaning…" I prompted.

"You're going to want to roll," Ven advised. He touched down and a cloud of dust immediately formed around him as he rolled to break his fall. I touched down a second later, but didn't roll in time. I crashed down to earth with an incredible amount of force and immediately felt pain flare up in my ankle.

"Gah! What the hell?!" I cried, rolling around holding my injured leg. Ven sighed and walked over with Wayward Wind in his grasp.

"Heal." The pain disappeared and I could get up and walk around. Ven stared at me like I was an idiot. "C'mon Roxas, I even told you to roll."

"Sorry that I was confused!" I exclaimed in exasperation. "Maybe if you had given me more than a two second heads up," I accused Ven testily.

"I know for a fact that you're good at processing information quickly. Maybe you could have rolled in time if you hadn't been too busy screaming like a little girl." I prepared to verbally assault Ventus, but I noticed team JNPR approaching with the blonde swordsman leading the group. Instead I settled for a "this isn't over" glare.

"Great job with the landing. That slowing down thing was a nice touch," Jaune complimented. "Anyway, let's move on to the next part of the test. Pyrrha, would you do the honors?" Jaune asked his scarlet haired teammate.

Pyrrha nodded. "Of course." She directed her attention to Ventus and me. "The next part of the test is a little trickier, but it should still be pretty easy. Just find and eliminate an Ursa." I looked at the Amazon with a blank expression.

"A what?"

"An Ursa," Nora declared as if repeating the word made everything clear.

Ren picked up the slack with an explanation. "An Ursa is one of the creatures of Grimm that threatens man's existence. As such, hunters and huntresses are tasked with eliminating those monsters. An Ursa looks like a large, black bear with glowing red eyes."

Ren's description of the monster was extremely reminiscent of the monsters I had fought for most of my life. "It's black and has oddly colored eyes? Is it a heartless?" It was team JNPR's turn for blank stares.

"What's a heartless?" Jaune asked with a quizzical expression.

A monster with spherical, glowing yellow eyes appeared in a burst of shadows. It was humanoid except for the razor sharp claws, jagged antennae falling behind its head, and pitch-black skin. Ventus visibly stiffened upon seeing the monster and I felt my jaw clench in annoyance. _Even here?_

"That is a heartless, a Neoshadow to be more exact," I stated as calmly as I could while summoning Oblivion in my right hand. Team JNPR looked ready to rush the heartless, weapons drawn, but I moved before any of them had the chance.

I dropped low as I charged the Neoshadow, readying Oblivion for one devastating strike. The Neoshadow danced around the path of my blade as more spawned, forming a circle around me. I descended upon the nearest heartless, returning it to shadows with one swing of Oblivion before quickly turning on the rest of the monsters.

I fought my way through the cluster of heartless, Oblivion moving with a mind of its own in a deadly dance.

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><p><strong>(Ventus POV)<strong>

"What are they doing here?" I asked in disbelief, staring at the dark creatures Roxas was fighting.

"Ventus, what are those things?" Pyrrah asked, studying the Neoshadows.

"It's like Roxas said, that's a heartless." Realizing that I hadn't actually explained anything, I continued on. "A heartless is the physical manifestation of the darkness within a person's heart. When a person succumbs to the darkness within them, a heartless is created. If the person had a particularly strong heart, they leave behind an empty shell called a Nobody. Roxas-" I clamped my mouth shut, realizing my mistake. _If Roxas wants them to know, he'll tell them._

"What about Roxas?" Ren glanced over at the cloaked boy crushing the monsters with ease. He turned his eyes to me, burning holes in my forehead.

"Ven, behind you." I spun, slicing into a Neoshadow that had been preparing to shred my back with its razor sharp claws.

Roxas walked over to our group, his weapon resting on his shoulder. "You're welcome for the help," Roxas declared, seemingly unaware of team JNPR's inquisitive stares.

I heard a slight rustling of leaves from behind my "other". I readied Wayward Wind and gave one simple command.

"Roxas, duck."

My twin hit the ground as one final Neoshadow hurled itself from the shadows, aiming for his exposed back. In that same moment I launched my weapon. There was a satisfying "thwack" followed by a cloud of darkness dissolving into the air.

"Now, you're welcome for the help." Roxas shrugged, unconcerned with what had happened. Keyblade wielders generally get used to being targeted by shadows. If they don't, they die. "Well, that was fun, but can are we done now?" I directed my question toward Jaune.

"Huh? Oh, sure. You guys were supposed to beat an Ursa, but I think a half dozen of those things should do the job." Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Let's get out here."

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><p>AN: And that's all I have for this chapter, hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry that it's kind of short, but I've been pretty busy (and lazy). Anyway, I have some vague ideas of where I want the plot to go, but I always like reader input. If you have any ideas for the plot, send them to me and I'll get back to you as quickly as possible. One last thing before we move on to the reviews. I set up a poll on my page asking what I should write next. If you feel so inclined please check it out and vote for your favorite option. Now, how 'bout them reviews?<p>

-lioncousin – Glad to hear you're excited about Xion and Axel. It may be a while before they show up, but they will appear eventually. Second, I thought about it and I've decided not to include Aqua and Terra. They're good characters, but I don't want to add too many KH characters into the story. Finally, Naminé will not be appearing in this story.

-ShadowSnowdapple – You're welcome!

-Symbolic Joker – Thanks for the concern, but I'm not really worried about people asking what happened to Kiari and Riku. I don't really care what happened to them so they will get no answer. About your second point, I know that Ventus didn't really lose his body. What I meant was that he was basically tossed off to the side and lost the ability to act on his own. Also I did play 3D so don't worry about spoilers. I actually preordered it and got it on the day it was released. Since then, I have beaten it about five times and one time I got 100% completion… I really need to get out more…

-excor5ist – Consider it done! Roxas' underwear is now officially black.

-The Eternal Forgotten – No problem!

And with that I bid you farewell until chapter 5. Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


	6. 5 - Why the Sun Sets Red

AN: Hey guys, Ventusblade here. I hope you don't mind me posting two chapters in quick succession. This one just flowed out of me so easily. Anyway, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

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><p><strong>(Ruby POV)<strong>

"Man that was a hectic day," Jaune sighed, falling back onto his bed.

Team Juniper had returned from the Emerald Forest with the two mysterious new students a little over an hour ago. Now Jaune's and my teams were assembled in team JNPR's dorm upon Jaune's request.

"So what's this about?" Yang inquired while claiming one of the few chairs in the room. The rest of us were left to sit on the beds. "Anything interesting happen?"

"If nothing had happened why would we be here right now?" Weiss demanded irritably. Weiss is one of the four members of my team, and the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. Her everyday outfit consists of a pale blue bolero jacket over a similarly colored thigh-length dress with a piece of black lace making up the neckline of the dress. The inside of the bolero is red and the sleeves turn blue as they get closer to her wrists. The bolero has the Schnee crest on the back that resembles to a snowflake. She wears her long white hair in a side ponytail that keeps her hair out of her icy blue eyes.

"Geez. Did someone piss in your cereal this morning?" Yang goaded.

Before Weiss could retort, Ren cleared his through to subtly get our attention.

"Yeah, some stuff happened."

I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of 'stuff'?"

"We saw a new kind of monster!" Nora declared happily. "They looked kinda like beowolves, but they could morph into shadows."

Blake perked up at the new information. "What do you mean? They could leave behind an after image like I can?" Blake is the final member of team RWBY, and is usually quiet and reserved. Blake wears a black-buttoned vest with coattails and a white sleeveless undershirt that leaves part of her midriff exposed, and a pair of white shorts and black stockings. Finishing her look is a black bow that she always wears atop her head.

"No, they can actually turn into a shadow and melt into the ground."

I stared at Nora in disbelief. "How is that even possible? I've never heard of a Grimm being able to do something like that."

"They weren't Grimm." Pyrrha looked up from polishing her circular, bronze shield. "Still, those boys we were with, Roxas and Ventus, seemed to know a lot about them. Roxas called them 'Heartless', monsters created when someone gives in to the darkness within."

"What does that even mean?" Weiss demanded. The idea that a monster could be created from a person was absurd.

Jaune released another frustrated sigh. "Not to mention those Nobody things Ventus told us about." Sensing my team's confusion, Jaune continued. "Apparently a Nobody, with a capital n, is the empty shell of a person who lost their heart. As such, I assume a Nobody does not have a heart. Ventus made it sound like they have some connection to Roxas."

"Who're Roxas and Ventus?" Blake asked. I had forgotten that neither Blake nor Weiss had met the new students as of yet.

"Roxas and Ven are the people Jaune and I found in front of the school," I briefly explained. "They look identical, but their personalities are completely different. Ven is really friendly and sociable, but Roxas is more reserved."

I glanced toward my older sister. Her arms were crossed across her chest and she wore a disapproving expression.

"I have a bad feeling about Roxas." Yang paused, carefully choosing her words. "Remember when he made a joke about having a 'lack of a heart condition'?" Jaune's eyes widened, realizing what Yang was suggesting.

"Could he be a Nobody?" The room fell deathly silent.

"S-so what?" I exclaimed, standing up for the blonde haired boy. "Even if he is, it doesn't mean a thing. We don't even know anything about Nobodies!"

I desperately scanned the room, searching for support. All I found were pensive looks on my friends' faces, including the usually energetic Nora.

"We can't take chances," Pyrrha decided. "The only way to learn anything is to ask Roxas directly."

I shot to my feet, startling the other inhabitants of the room. "No problem. Yang and I would be happy to talk with Roxas."

Ren shook his head. "Sending one person would be our best bet. Let Yang go on her own."

Yang shrugged. "I've wanted some answers from him anyway. So, were should I look?"

* * *

><p><strong>(Roxas POV)<strong>

_I would kill for some sea salt ice cream._

Aside from the distinct lack of ice cream, everything felt right.

I had stumbled across the stairs leading to the dorm's roof, presenting me with the perfect perch to watch the sunset. Just sitting on the edge of a building watching the soft red Hughes dance across the sky makes me feel almost human.

I flopped back, releasing a "humph". "Man, I want ice cream!" I groaned, my voice reverberating off the stone building of Beacon Academy.

_That's just an excuse_, my subconscious scolded. _What you really want are your friends. You want to go back to eating ice cream and talking like an idiot with Axel and Xion._

I felt a lump forming in my throat. _"Let's meet again in the next life."_ That's what Axel told me before we both disappeared.

Well here I am, in "the next life", but where's Axel? What good is a second chance if I'm alone again?

"Hey Roxas!"

I spun around to face the voice behind me. I was met with a cheerfull looking Yang.

A skill I had picked up during my days in Organization XIII was reading the smallest details in a human's demeanor to deduce their true emotions. Yang's smile didn't reach her eyes and she was shifting her weight from foot to foot signaling discomfort.

"What's up?" I asked in a friendly enough tone while keeping my guard up. _It's more like what do you want from me?_

"Mind if I join you?" I shrugged motioning to the edge of the roof. Yang cuatiously took a seat, drinking in the magnificent sunset.

"Bet you don't know why the sun sets red," I began, lowering myselft next to the older girl. "You see, light is made up of lots of different colors. And out of all those colors, red's the one that travels the farthest," I recited, mirroring the lecture Axel had given on my 255th day.

"Do you always watch the sunset?" Yang asked earnestly.

"Yeah. It's how I remember my friends." I smiled at my memories of Axel and...and... My smile faltered.

"What's wrong?" Yang had noticed my shift in mood.

Xion's name reappeared in my head. "Nothing. I just forgot my friend's name for a second." Yang chuckled.

"You must not have been very close."

I felt my blood beginning to boil. _Hold it together Roxas. If you lose it, you won't learn what she wants. "_No. We were closer than you could ever understand." I paused to take a deep breath. "That's enough small talk. Why are you really here?"

Yang sighed. "I just want to learn a bit about you. I can't leave until I know what I need to know."

I decided to humor the girl. "Fine then. Shoot."

"What's a Nobody?" Yang asked, catching me off guard. "Ventus mention the word, but what is it?"

_Damn it Ven!_ "A Nobody is an empty shell created when a person looses their heart." Yang motioned for me to continue. "A Nobody of a person with a strong heart retains their appearance and mental capabilities, but there is one fundamental difference. Nobodies have no heart and are unable to feel emotions."

I paused to let the information sink in. "Nobodies are beings between light and darkness. As such they shouldn't exist in either world. So if a Nobody disappears, nothing remains, not even a corpse. Satisfied?"

Yang nodded slowly, seeping up the information overload. "One more question. Are you a Nobody?"

I felt my breath hitch in my throat. _I can't lie my way out of this. I knew too much about Nobodies to do that._

"Yes, I am." I cast a quick glance at Yang, searching for an sign of fear of hostility. I saw none. "I'm the Nobody of Sora, the Keybearer." I extended my hand to the confused girl.

"Let me re-introduce myself. I'm Roxas, formerly Organization XIII's thirteenth member, the key of destiny. As you've guessed, I don't have a heart." I stared at Yang, my gaze unwavering.

"My name is Roxas, and I have no right to exist."

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><p>AN: Damn that was fun to write. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. So the truth about Roxas was finally revealed. How will Yang react to this startling information? Will Ozpin get off his lazy bum and do something? Probably not. Any who, anyone up for some reviews?<p>

-DragonDude23 - Glad you like chapter four! I've never actually heard the exclamation "swicked", hopefully it's a possitive thing. Don't worry about being busy. Real life happens. We'll work it in eventually.

-The Eternal Forgotten - You know it!

-Ryan Roach - Thanks man!

-Antex-The Legendary Zoroark - It's nice to see a new face, er username. I actually don't have a fully flushed out reason why there are heartless, I just really wanted there to be hearts. So I used the all powerful excuse "because I can". Don't worry, I'll come up with something. Thanks for showing some interest!

And with that I bid you farewell. So ladies, gentlemen, and others; Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


	7. The Announcement That Never Was 2

Hey all, Ventusblade here after far too long. First of all, I'm really sorry that you all have had to wait so long for the next chapter I Am Me. It's crunch time with school so I've been pretty swamped. Plus real life things have been going on, so yeah.

If you've checked my profile recently you may have seen that my progress on chapter 7 of I Am Me has decreased to 0%. I lost all of my notes and my freaking chapter outline when I accidentally deleted the note on my phone... Great job me! Basically this means that I have no idea what I was going to do with the next chapter, and, since I've been focusing on other stuff, I remember next to nothing.

Why am I telling you this stuff? I'm glad you asked! It would be a massive help to me if you guys gave me some small suggestions, think of them as jumping off points. For example, how would you like to see chapter 7 begin? Should I focus on RWBY characters or KH characters? Do you want fluffy stuff or the hard plot? Things like those would be a great help in getting the ball rolling.

Finally, I want to get chapter seven finished sometime this month, but that may be tricky. I'm still working on chapter 17 of my main story, Garnet Rose:Another Side, which I'm behind schedule on, and I'll be AFK (Away From Keyboard) for the last week of the month. In other words, I'm sorry if I can't get the chapter finished as quickly as you all deserve. On that note let's move on to the massive number of reviews chapter 16 got!

-Antex-The Legendary Zoroark - Yup, Roxas told Yang. Why? Um...to progress the plot? Anyway, glad you're liking the story.

-KuroAlice - Was it really that sad? Sorry, I guess. Unless you liked that. I've actually been trying to steer clear of sad stuff in this story since I have a bit too much "angst" (to quote one review) in my other story.

-ShadowSnowdapple - Dude, that is awesome! I got this stupidly big grin after reading your review. Everyone likes hearing that people like their stuff, but it's even better to hear that your work can brighten someone's day. I hope to keep that up!

-lioncousin - Yup, Roxas laying down the law was really fun to write. I just got into a sort of groove. Anywho, I'm glad you like that part.

-Forbiddenlove100 - ...Why didn't I think of something that simple?

-Zero Master 13 - I'll take "not bad". Thanks for the support!

-Kuroyami Fukaikuro - Sorry about that. This is my first ever cross over so I'm still trying to get the hang of things. I'll try to avoid doing things like that in future chapters.

-foggraven - Thanks! That was my favorite part too.

-The Eternal Forgotten - Glad you like that line. I actually thought up that one line first and then wrote a scene around it.

-Kamen Rider Sting - Yup. "Damn it Ven."

-Guest (I assume you're Jamal Brown) - Sure, but why 16.5?

-Zoopy2010 - Thanks for the kind words, but now I'm really confused. What is up with 16.5? Am I missing a joke? Did I write a joke that I don't know about?

-Keyblade Guardian - You actually read it! Thank you so much! Sorry about the dual wielding contrasting what should be possible. The way I like to think about it is that Roxas was able to dual wield because of Xion returning the power she "borrowed" (which is inaccurate). There will be some significance to this, so you'll have to trust me. The only hint I can give is that Roxas will soon loose the ability to dual wield.

Ladies, gentlemen, and others, with that I bid you farewell. Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

Your overwhelmed author,

-Ventusblade


	8. 6 - Dreams of a Keyblade Wielder

**AN:** S'up all? Ventusblade here with another chapter of I Am Me. I know that this took faaaaaaar too long, and I am eternally sorry for that. However, I hope the wait was worth it. I'm kind of unsure to what degree I should include the cannon plot of RWBY because that might limit what I can do with the Kingdom Hearts characters that are involved in this story. Drop me a review or a PM to tell me your opinions. Now, without further ado, enjoy chapter 6 of I Am Me.

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><p><strong>(Last Chapter) <strong>[AN: This is just a little reminder of what happened since it's been so long.]

_"I'm the Nobody of Sora, the Keybearer." I extended my hand to the confused girl._

_"Let me re-introduce myself. I'm Roxas, formerly Organization XIII's thirteenth member, the Key of Destiny. As you've guessed, I don't have a heart." I stared at Yang, my gaze unwavering._

_"My name is Roxas, and I have no right to exist."_

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><p><strong>(Yang POV)<strong>

_He-he's not human…_

That was the only thing my mind seemed to be able to process as I stared at the coat-wearing boy beside me, the golden rays of the sunset reflecting off his blonde mane.

I felt myself inching away from the boy, apprehension controlling my actions. I quickly glanced down at my gauntlets, checking my ammo supply.

"Don't bother." I froze. Roxas had apparently followed my gaze. "I haven't put up any sort of resistance against you or your school, so why should I act any differently now?" The boy declared, his voice devoid of emotion.

_He's right_. I felt a pang of guilt as I stared at the younger boy, his smile humorless and eyes filled with pain. "Roxas, I'm-"

Roxas cut me off. "All you Somebodies are the same. You're afraid of anything that's different, forcing all of us that don't belong into the shadows." The boy spoke with no hostility, as if he were simply stating a fact.

I stared down at my hands in my lap. "M-maybe explaining some things would help?" I suggested timidly, not wanting Roxas to run off. It felt as though all my usual confidence and bravado has abandoned me.

The boy stared at me, his deep blue eyes unwavering. "I was born with no sense of being, not even a name. The Organization XIII took me in, and just like that I became Roxas, No. XIII."

"What's the Organization?" I asked.

"It was a group of Nobodies with a single goal, gaining hearts of our own. I was crucial in achieving that goal." The blonde haired boy reached out and his white sword materialized in a burst of light. "This weapon, the keyblade, was necessary to their plan succeeding. I spent my days carrying out missions and interacting with the other members. Like every group, we had our bad apples and our good ones." Roxas showed a shadow of a smile before recomposing his air of sangfroid.

"I made two friends, Axel, No. VIII, and Xion, No. XIV. When I was with them I felt almost human, I was even able to laugh." The idea of the seemingly emotionless boy laughing was a baffling thought.

"Xion and I were both 'special nobodies'. Neither of us could remember who we were before we became Nobodies and we could both wield the Keyblade."

"Xion was the person you mistook Ruby for, right?" I asked.

Roxas nodded. "To simplify things, Xion started looking into her past, and found out that she wasn't who she thought she was. She was somehow connected to my Somebody, Sora. She decided that it would be best to merge with Sora, so she did." Roxas explained simply.

I continued to stare out at the sunset, trying to make sense of what Roxas was telling me. I couldn't figure out a lot of what he was telling me but I got the general ideas. Still, it felt like there was something he wasn't telling me. "What happened?"

Roxas leaned back. "I was angry and wasn't thinking straight. I turned on the Organization, sealing my fate of being destroyed." Roxas closed his eyes. "I told Axel that no one would miss me if I disappeared, and then left."

"Axel was your friend." I recalled.

"Yeah, and I pushed him away. After running from the Organization, I was forced to fight Sora's best friend. He crushed me and I was put into a virtual town without any of my memories of the Organization."

As I listened to the story, I felt myself becoming on edge sitting beside Roxas. His apathetic tone seemed neither forced nor practiced, leading me to believe that he really couldn't feel emotions. Either that or the boy had the discipline of Ren.

"I spent a week in that town, being chased by the Organization and trying to figure out who I was. Then I was forced to merge with Sora, just like Xion. I lost my body and was stuck living in Sora's heart for a year. Now I'm here." Roxas stared me in the eyes. "This is my chance to finally live like a real person, to have friends, to be me. So what are you going to go?" Roxas' voice strayed from the controlled tone I had become attuned to, becoming strained as if speaking drained him of his energy.

"Will you tell everyone that I'm a monster and shatter the dream of a being who has nothing?" The boy's eyes started fluttering as he released an amused chuckle. "Who would that make the real monster? Me or you?" With that the boy's eyes shut and he collapsed.

* * *

><p><strong>(Jaune POV)<strong>

"There is no way in hell that happened!" Ventus exclaimed with a laugh.

Ven had accepted my team's offer of hanging out. Now all five of us were seated in Team JNPR's dorm room on random pieces of furniture. Ren had claimed his bed and Nora had opted to join him, leaning against our quiet teammate with a content smile.

I had "liberated" a folding chair from the supply closet near the mess hall and was sitting on that. Pyrrha was seated on her bed doing maintenance on her weapon.

Finally, Ven was content to sitting on the desk as my team recanted the story of our test in the Emerald Forest.

Ren shrugged at the younger boy's outburst. "That's what happened."

Nora nodded violently, backing up her makeshift pillow. "Yup. We ran into this big raven and it was like _woosh,"_ Nora moved her arm in a downward arc as she made a wooshing noise. "Then it broke the bridge we were running across."

Ventus examined Nora with a confused expression before turning to Pyrrha. The scarlet haired girl shrugged. "Yes, that's actually accurate."

"Geez, you guys have fought some weird monsters."

"Come on Ven, birds aren't that strange." My team nodded in agreement. "What's the weirdest thing you've fought?"

"How do I explain?" Ventus rubbed his chin, pretending he had a beard. He quickly reached into a drawer in the desk and pulled out a pen and a pad of paper. "I'll draw it and explain it." With that he began moving the pen feverishly.

"Ooh! Was it a dragon?" Nora asked excitedly.

"Nora, not every cool monster is a dragon," Ren admonished the girl.

"Why not?" No one could think of any response to that.

"Done!" All eyes turned to the blonde haired boy who was holding out his drawing. It looked like…a stooped old man with a pointy beard?

"You beat up an old man?" I asked incredulously. Pyrrha apparently shared in my confusion based on her facial expression.

"Well, sort of, but he deserved it." Ven scratched the back of his head. "I also fought myself this one time."

The looks of confusion deepened.

"You fought Roxas?" Pyrrha asked.

"Are you kidding me? Roxas would've just punched me and been done with it. Besides Roxas would kill me if I called him me."

"Why?" Ren asked, expressing what was on all of our minds.

Ventus scratched the back of his head once more, taking a moment to choose his words. "Roxas is kind of touchy when it comes to being his own person." Ven began his explanation tentatively. "He has really strong connections to me and a person named Sora. You could say that he comes from us."

I interrupted Ven to sate my curiosity. "How is that possible?"

Ven bit his lip, looking torn. "I could tell you, but you'll probably find out when Yang gets back." The boy smiled and spread his hands apologetically as all of us donned embarrassed expressions. "Sorry, the walls are kind of thin here."

Ren nodded in understanding. "So Roxas is a nobody."

"Yeah. Sorry to keep it a secret, but he really just wanted a chance to be normal. Anyway, Roxas was born when Sora lost his heart for a bit, making him Sora's Nobody. He also received part of my heart, so he got my appearance. Trust me it's too long a story to explain." Ven paused to let us process the information before continuing. "Because of his origins, Roxas has always lived in Sora's shadow even when all he wanted was to be acknowledged as himself." Ven yawned. "Sorry, I just feel really tired all of a sudden."

Nora jumped up and grabbed Ven, practically throwing him onto my empty bed. "Use this bed!"

Ven yawned again as his eyes began drooping. "Thanks." And just like that, the kid was dead to the world.

* * *

><p><strong>(? POV)<strong>

I felt a reminiscing smile creep onto my face as I stared down at the circular platform below me. I had to admit, the new design of The Station of Awakening was very picturesque.

Similar to all the previous images this world had donned, this new design focused on two keyblade wielder, placing them in the center of the circular floor arranged in an almost yin-yang symbol. The figure on the right was shown wearing a midnight black coat and was surrounded by a dark background. On the left, the figure wore a checkered windbreaker and was surrounded by a background as white as snow.

Lying on either side of the center symbol was a teenage boy, both of whom I knew very well. One of the boys opened his eyes and sat up with a bewildered expression, taking in his surroundings.

"Roxas, wake up." Ventus began nudging his twin's shoulder insistently, however Roxas refused to be roused. Eventually Ven gave up on simply nudging. "This is ridiculous," the blonde keyblade wielder grumbled, taking off his shoe and using it to smack Roxas up side the head.

Roxas jolted awake, sitting bolt upright. "I'm up, I'm up!" The boy declared tiredly. "Ven? When did you come up here?"

"What are you talking about? Don't you recognize this place?"

Roxas rubbed his eyes and took a look around for the first time since he woke up. "This is where I fought Sora…Wait, I remember falling asleep beside Yang. Is this a dream?"

Ven nodded. "Probably. The last thing I remember is falling asleep on Jaune's bed." Ven scratched the back of his head. "This doesn't make any sense. Why would we be in the Realm of Dreams?"

Roxas shrugged, but made no move to stand up. "Maybe Sora missed a keyhole."

"Probably not. Sora may have been childish, but he always followed through on missions."

_And that's my cue._

"Jeez, thanks a lot, Roxas," I said, appearing behind my Nobody in a flash of light.

"SORA?!" Both boys shouted, causing me to cringe at the sheer volume of their combined voices.

"Yeah, it's me. How're you guys doing?" Instead of a simple "pretty good", I felt a fist rocket into my temple, spinning me 180 degrees. "Not so good, I guess," I joked, rubbing my sore head.

"Not so good?" Roxas's eyes blazed like wild fires. "Not at all. I love ending up in random worlds against my will."

"Ignore him," Ven advised. "The real question is how are you here? Didn't you disappear when your heart replaced Kingdom Hearts?"

"About that," I began sheepishly. "Apparently I didn't fade away, and I'm sort of Kingdom Hearts now." Ven and Roxas stared back at me with blank expressions. "Surprise," I said weakly.

"You're Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all the worlds?" _Roxas, if you raise your eyebrows any higher, they're gonna fall off._

"Time for a little demo." I held out my hand and a small ball of light appeared, dancing smoothly as if it were a flame.

"Yeah, I can do that too." Roxas copied my action. "I'm a Nobody with control over light remember?"

_Time to turn it up a notch. _I closed my eyes and focused on the weak light in my hand, willing it to enlarge and consume my body. Soon I was wrapped in a warm blanket of light. Within another moment I felt my body disintegrate, melting into the light surrounding me. _Let's go…beside Ven._

I opened my eyes, finding myself standing beside Ventus, and leaned against Roxas's twin, grinning at the shocked looks on the boys' faces. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"That was awesome!" Ven wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Think you could teach me how to do that?"

"What do you want?" Roxas demanded, ignoring his twin. "You wouldn't show up for no reason, or is 'the supreme being of light' just lazy?"

"That hurts, Roxas." I put my hands on my heart and pouted. "Can't I just say hi to my son from time to time?" Ven snorted at my joke.

"No," my Nobody deadpanned. "I'm your Nobody, not your kid. Just get to the point so I can go back to sleeping."

"Sure, but I wasn't lying about coming to say hi. I'm only able to visit my friends through their dreams now, so our time is pretty limited. First of all, I'm really sorry that I couldn't get you back to your worlds, but this was the best I could do."

"What do you mean?" Ven asked.

"It took me about three weeks to learn how to control the light well enough to give both of you your bodies back. During that time, you two were nothing but formless hearts. Once I was able to do that, I tried sending you home, but I accidentally sent you to the wrong world." I paused in my explanation, allowing the two boys that had resided in my heart to soak up the information.

"Can't you just try again?" Roxas asked.

"No can do," I said with a sad shake of my head. "You're both recognized as inhabitants of Remnant, and I can't change that. So you're stuck there."

"Great," Roxas sighed, placing his thumb and pointer finger over his eyes in irritation.

"C'mon Roxas, it's not all bad. We should be thankful that Sora managed to give us back our bodies." Ventus grinned at me. "Thanks buddy," he exclaimed as he ruffled my hair.

_I always forget that he's ten years older than me. _"It was the least I could do. Actually, there is one more thing. There was another person residing deep within my heart. It took me a long time, but she's finally ready to join you guys."

"She?" Roxas whispered. "Xion?" The Nobody asked tentatively.

I smiled kindly in response. "Sorry, but we're out of time. I'm not sure if I'll be able to contact you again, so good-bye. I only wish that I could have done more for you guys."

Ventus laughed. "You've done plenty. I mean you did shelter the remains of my damaged heart for ten years."

"And you gave me a life to live." Roxas smiled sadly. "I've had to say this to too many friends," the boy mumbled, before meeting my eyes. "Let's meet again in the next life."

I met my Nobody's expression with a somber smile. "Yeah. Let's do that."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> And that's the end of chapter 6! I was torn between keeping the chapter going for two more scenes, but I hate that this has taken so long, so I'll save those for chapter 7. Anyway, I think you all can guess who that new character I hinted at is. If not, you'll find out soon enough. So, shall we move on to the reviews?

-**Kuroyami Fukaikuro: **Thanks for backing up my theory, even though I'm completely wrong. Anyway, I'll work on finding that balance of "fluff" and plot. If you ever have criticism, don't hesitate to send it my way. In response to your review of the sneak preview, thank you for correcting my characterization of Roxas. Your advice made a big difference!

-**Zoop2010:** Okay then. 16.5 it is.

-**knives3131:** Thank you my good sir or lady.

-**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark:** I'm glad you liked the sneak peak, and I hope this complete version was even better!

-**Guest:** I going to assume that all the misspelling was some hard-core spell check, but don't worry about that. I completely agree with you about which characters to include. Xion will definitely make an appearance; I wanted to include Terra and Aqua, but it would make things too complex for me; Axel is one of my favorite characters and he might make a cameo or visit from time to time, but unfortunately he will not be playing a major role in this story.

-**Ryan Roach:** Thanks! It took me a little while to get the emotions in that scene to be how I wanted them, but I guess it worked in the end.

-**Guest: **Wish granted. I can't promise quicker updates, but I'll try my best.

Well, that ends the review section. Don't forget to drop me a review or a PM if you have any ideas or requests (within the realm of possibility). Anyway, I'll see you all next chapter. Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


	9. 7 - The Point Where It Breaks

AN: Hey everyone, I'm back with the actual chapter 7. Originally it was going to be longer than it is, but I kept getting reviews telling me to hurry up and update, so I cut out a few scenes. I hope the chapter is good regardless. Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>(Roxas POV)<strong>

I had another dream about Twilight Town. I sat on the clock tower eating sea salt ice cream, watching the last rays of sunlight sink below the horizon.

"Hey Roxas." I turned to see a girl with a rounded face, deep blue eyes, raven black hair reaching the nape of her neck, and a coat identical to mine.

_Xion._ For some reason I couldn't find my voice.

"What if you hadn't fought me the day I merged with Sora?" Xion stared out at the sunset, the glare of the sun hiding her face. "Would I have killed you?"

_No! You would never do that. No matter what, we're best friends. _ The words never made it out of my mouth.

Xion turned on me with a crazed smile, her face replaced by Sora's. "Should we find out?"

Without warning, Xion vanished from my side and the ledge beneath me disintegrated. The calm scenery of the town faded to black and I began plummeting toward the ground, flailing for anything to stop my fall.

I looked up to see Xion staring down at me, the crazed expression still plastered to her face.

"Bye, Roxas."

Those were the last words I heard before slamming into the hard ground with bone shattering force.

* * *

><p>I jolted awake, breathing heavily and slick with sweat.<p>

_What the hell was that?_

I tried to slowly gain control of my breathing as I took stock of my surroundings.

I was lying on a bed, specifically my bed. Beside me, Ventus' bed was empty except for a pile of my twin's rumpled clothing. At the foot of my bed sat my boots and my coat, folded in a neat square.

_How did I get back to the dorm?_ I thought, finally calming my breathing. I wiped the sweat off my forehead as Ventus' voice broke through my thoughts.

"Jeez Roxas, you sure know how to sleep," Ventus said, stepping out of our bathroom.

He was wearing a white button down shirt with a red tie, a slim black vest with gold trim, a matching pair of slacks, and a pair of black lace-up dress shoes. On the right breast of his vest was a circle with two crossed axes inside it.

I stared at my twin, unused to seeing him without his checkered windbreaker. "So," I began sleepily, yawning slightly and running a hand through my disheveled tresses of hair. "Who's the lucky lady?"

Ven snorted, making his way to his bed and sitting down. "Larxene," he responded, causing me to nearly gag. "Worth it!" My twin snickered, taking pleasure in my reaction.

"You're a jerk." I sighed, falling back onto my pillow and closing my eyes. "What did I miss?"

"A lot. We got a letter from the Headmaster. Apparently we passed that exam in the forest and we're honorary students of Beacon."

"Cool," I said unenthusiastically, turning onto my side to put my back to Ven.

"And," Ven continued as my pillow was pulled out from under my head, "we got uniforms, class schedules, and scrolls."

I sighed irritably and sat up, opening my eyes to see Ventus holding a pile of objects for me to take.

First, I grabbed a short silver rectangle with a horizontal gap through its center.

"That's your scroll," Ventus informed me. "It's basically a tiny computer you can use as a communication device and to get information. Pull the two sides apart to see the display."

I did as Ven directed and found that the scroll was indeed a computer. The screen displayed multiple icons ranging from "team status" to "messaging". I closed the scroll and put it aside, deciding to explore it further later.

Next, my twin handed me a uniform identical to the one he was wearing. "Put this on. You can either wear the vest or the sports coat."

I stared at the pile of clothing in my hands and back to my Organization coat. "Can't I just wear my coat?" A far as I could see, my coat was far superior to the uniform in every way. It was lighter, sturdier, and better for stealth.

"It's not for fighting," Ven argued, as if reading my mind. "If we're going to pass as students, we need to look the part."

"Fine," I grumbled, stomping into the bathroom with the pile of clothes.

Within two minutes I had changed into the stuffy uniform. Ten minutes later I was still wrestling with the necktie.

"How the hell do you tie this?!" I yelled, no small task considering how the damned piece of cloth was choking me. "Screw it!" I cried in frustration, simultaneously summoning Oathkeeper and slicing the tie into tiny pieces. After one final disgusted snort, I exited the bathroom.

"Have some trouble in there?" Ventus asked smugly as I slammed the bathroom door shut behind me.

"No. None. Not a one." I shot back hotly. "Give me the flipping schedule."

Ven complied, still eyeing me with an amused expression.

"No one likes ties anyway," I muttered bitterly as I looked over my schedule. I only had about four classes in total; Combat Theory with Professor Goodwitch, General History with Professor Oobleck, Grimm Studies with Professor Port, and Heartless Studies. Below Heartless Studies it read, "Professor not yet determined".

I looked up from my schedule a few moments later to find Ventus with one foot in the hall. "Where are you going?"

"Class," Ven answered simply before dashing out of our dorm room. "We're late!"

"But I have no idea where to go!" I yelled down the hall.

"Your scroll has a map!" Ven shouted over his shoulder as he turned a corner and disappeared from my line of sight.

"Gee, thanks," I muttered peevishly as I pulled my scroll out of my pocket.

It took me two frustrating minutes to find the map function. Soon after, I began to slowly navigate the halls of Beacon.

* * *

><p><em>Maybe no one will notice if I sneak in quietly…<em>

I stood in front of the door to the Combat Theory class, unsure of how to proceed. According to my scroll, I was ten minutes late, which was probably a bad thing. However, I didn't want to just barge in and suddenly become the center of attention.

"Just suck it up." With that I pushed open the classroom door and stepped inside.

The room was a plain rectangle. In the front of the room was a raised platform shaped like a semicircle with an ornate backdrop. Stage lights lit the platform, causing it to stand out from the rest of the room. Above the platform hung a large monitor.

On the platform were Jaune and another male student who I didn't recognize. He was fairly tall with burnt orange hair and indigo eyes. The student wore a chest plate with a bird whose wings were stretched out. Underneath the armor, he wore a black shirt with red trimmings and black pants with a red belt tied around his waist. In his right hand he held a double-handed mace to Jaune's chest, who was laying on the ground with his hands up.

"Enough, Mr. Winchester." Only then did I notice an older woman, Professor Goodwitch I assumed, standing between the two male students. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has dropped into the red. This indicates that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and Cardin was won the match," the professor told the mass of students standing before the battle area.

_No one even noticed me. Way to go Roxas!_

"Ah Roxas, it's nice of you to join us. I am aware that you are a new student, however I would prefer that you show up on time for my class."

_So close._ "Sorry," I mumbled falling into place with the herd of students.

"Roxas," the Professor continued, "perhaps you would care to demonstrate dueling with Mr. Winchester? I see that as fitting retribution for arriving late."

Jaune dragged himself off the stage as Cardin grinned maliciously, as though excited by the idea of "dueling" me.

_She wants me to fight that guy? Why? And more importantly, am I really so unintimidating in this monkey suit?_

Despite my confusion and apprehension, I pushed my way to the front of the room and took Jaune's place, flashing him a forced smile as I passed.

"Now, please take your positions," Goodwitch commanded. Cardin got into a sloppy stance, his large weapon resting on his shoulder and his feet slightly apart. I took my position opposite the large boy, waiting for further direction.

"Excuse me, Professor? Is it really fair for me to fight this little kid?" Cardin jeered, earning quiet laughter from the audience.

Goodwitch was not amused. "The duel will end when one participant's aura drops into the red. You may begin."

I crouched, tense and waiting for the older boy to make his move. Confusingly, he just stood there, his weapon on his shoulder and a cocky grin on his face.

"Okay kid, I'm going to give you one last chance to give up. C'mon, you don't even have a weapon."

I stared at the older student with a cold hard gaze. "Shut up. You're wasting my time as it is."

Cardin stared at me, likely stunned by someone smaller and younger than him standing up to his challenge. "Fine then, kid. Don't complain when they're cleaning you off the walls." With that the large boy charged, his weapon back on his right side preparing to launch into my side.

Right as the attack was about to make contact, I dashed behind Cardin and kicked him in the back of the knee, forcing him to the ground.

I stared at the massive student, unimpressed. "Are we done?"

Cardin turned to glare at me, his eyes murderous. He jumped to his feet, swinging his mace in an arc as he got up, forcing me to retreat a few paces. With almost no pause, he launched a barrage of strikes, advancing with each swing.

I ducked, jumped, and sidestepped the attacks with relative ease, waiting for an opening to attack the giant oaf. Seeing none in the near future, I retreated out of Cardin's reach and assumed a low crouch, my arms at the ready.

Seeing this as an opening, Cardin rushed forward with his mace prepped for an overhead strike.

_That's right. Just a little closer._

The giant mace was right above my head when my hands flew above me and grasped the air, commanding my keyblades to appear. Immediately, I felt the familiar grip of Oblivion in my right hand, but nothing appeared in my left hand.

"Wha-" I didn't have a chance to finish my sentence. Cardin's mace rocketed into my weak guard, causing it to break and the mace to come crashing down on me.

"Damn that hurt," I groaned from my sprawled out position on the ground. Cardin cast a dark shadow on me as he looked down at me, a smirk on his face.

"That's what I thought, newbie. Just another worthless mistake of a student."

I allowed my brain a moment to fully digest Cardin's words, focusing on "worthless mistake". I had heard that phrase far too many times, always referring to my best friend.

"It would seem Roxas' aura has reached the red," Goodwitch began. I never gave her a chance to finish the thought.

I raised Oblivion from my position on the ground, yelling one word. "Heal!" Immediately the Cura spell began taking effect, chasing away my fatigue and healing my scrapes and bruises.

I could hear a few gasps from the students watching the duel, but I ignored them. I was solely focused on Cardin, who had already turned his back to me and was walking away.

I jumped to my feet and got into my stance, my legs at ninety-degree angles and my back hunched over my one keyblade. Before Cardin even knew what was happening, I twirled my keyblade in my hand and used another spell.

"Thundaga!"

Small bolts of lightning ravaged the platform around Cardin as the boy looked around with a confused expression. The lighting surrounded my opponent until a much larger bolt came down right above him, hopefully frying him on contact. As soon as I saw Cardin fall, I turned around to face the professor.

There was a stunned silence before Goodwitch cleared her throat and spoke up. "As you can see, Mister Winchester's aura has been depleted and he is unable to continue dueling. Roxas is the victor of this match."

I nodded politely and quickly left the dueling area, pulling up my hood as I walked.

_At least I survived my first class. Only three more to go._

I sighed despondently and attempted, unsuccessfully, to go unnoticed for the rest of Combat Theory.

* * *

><p><strong>(Ventus POV)<strong>

**"**So, how 'bout that Boarbatusk?" Yang ribbed Weiss.

I was sitting in Beacon's mess hall beside Team RWBY, happily enjoying my dinner of a chicken sandwich. The black haired team leader was inhaling cookies at an impressive rate, Yang was happily chewing away on a double cheeseburger, Weiss was nibbling a simple yet "refined" salad, and Blake was quietly enjoying a tuna sandwich. In between bites, we shared some simple small talk, mostly about the day's classes.

"It was Ruby's fault that I almost lost!" Weiss exclaimed, pointing her fork at the younger girl.

"What did I do?" Ruby protested with her arms crossed indignantly.

"You did yell out to her right when that boar thing was attacking," I offered, my mouth partially filled with delicious chicken. _If I ever get back to Land of Departure I'm making this for Terra and Aqua._

Yang nodded wisely. "He's got you there, little sis."

Ruby had a somewhat annoyed expression, likely unhappy about being ganged up on, but pushed with the conversation. "We really never talked about our takes on Roxas." When met with my confused look she continued. "You know, about him being-" Ruby quickly looked side to side, as if worried that someone might be listening in on our conversation. "- a Nobody."

"What's there to talk about?" I asked confusedly. "He's a little cold at times, but he's a good guy."

"Well, you two are pretty close," Yang said, "but you're siblings, so that's to be expected. We can't really be sure how he'll react to everyone else."

I stared at Yang, slightly surprised at her view of my twin. Suddenly Weiss chimed in.

"I agree. Yang told us that Nobodies don't belong in any world. Although I'm not completely sure what that means, there has to be a reason why they don't belong. If you ask me, it would be better if Roxas wasn't here," the white haired huntress finished coldly.

"Why are you being so hard on him?" Blake demanded angrily, surprising the rest of us. "He's different. So what? We're all different," the girl emphasized with emotion. "Ruby can run at superhuman speeds, Yang can ignite, Weiss can summon glyphs out of thin air, and I can make physical shadows of myself. None of that is normal." I smiled at Blake defending Roxas even when her team seemed unsure.

I felt a shiver run down my spine, making me feel that someone was staring at me. I looked over my shoulder to see Roxas sitting at the table behind me and Team RWBY, his blue eyes like ice and his face expressionless. His hands were clamped down on the edge of the table, his nails digging into the thick wood. Nervously, I turned back to my table, where Weiss and Blake were glaring at each other with Yang and Ruby quietly sitting there. It was as if they knew they wouldn't be able to stop their teammates from arguing, and had no other choice than to sit and watch.

"Normal people have hearts!" Weiss shot back. "That-" she struggled to find the right word, "thing isn't even human!"

A loud, dull crash of a wooden chair hitting the linoleum floor echoed from behind our table, catching the attention of almost everyone in the dinning hall.

Team RWBY immediately grew silent and I shut my eyes in despair.

_Why did he have to be right behind us?_

I reopened my eyes to see Roxas, hands balled into tight fist at his sides, quickly making his escape from the silent cafeteria.

"Roxas, wait!" I yelled, springing form my seat to chase after my twin. The chatter of the cafeteria resumed behind me, as though nothing had even been amiss.

* * *

><p>I finally caught up with Roxas when he reached our dorm.<p>

I threw open the door to see Roxas flopping down on his bed with a tired sigh. He stared at the ceiling, flicking his wrist so that his palm faced up.

"Roxas," I began softly, stepping into the room and making my way to my twin's bed. "Ignore what Weiss said. She was just-"

"Saying what everyone was thinking," Roxas cut in sadly, still flicking his wrist. "We look identical, but they accept you and want me gone."

"I'm sure they don't mean that." The excuse sounded pathetic even to me. "Besides, how would you even leave this world? Not even Sora, Kingdom Hearts, could send us home."

Roxas didn't hesitate at all with his answer. "Corridor of Darkness." He flicked his wrist again and an oval made of pure darkness appeared. Black and purple tendrils of shadow flipped off the portal and a low hum could be heard.

"Are you insane?!" I burst. "We're inhabitants of Remnant now, so we can't leave! If you try walking through that thing you'll just end up like Aqua!"

Roxas shrugged. "So I get lost in the World of Darkness, big deal." With that he took a step toward the portal.

* * *

><p>AN: And that brings chapter 7 to a close. Honestly, I wanted to keep it going for a few more scenes, but I cut those since this was taking way too long. Don't worry, those scenes will be appearing in chapter 8, however I have some things I want to complete before I write that. Namely, those things are Garnet Rose chapter 20, and The Flower and The Monster (a collaboration between myself and Ryan Roach) chapter 4. Basically, don't hold your breath for chapter 8. Anyway, let's move on to the reviews. As a side note, I don't exactly remember what I've already responded to, so bear with me if there are some repeats. Also, these are reviews from the previous chapter and the preview of this chapter.<p>

**Guest: **Wish granted.

**Guest (#2. In response to chapter 1):** Sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about. I can go back and look, but I don't think I made any mistakes with that.

**The Eternal Forgotten: **Glad you liked that. I almost skipped that scene, but I'm glad I wrote it.

**ShadowSnowApple: **Don't worry about being "bad at critiquing", I'm just happy to hear that you like the story. Also, you're welcome. I'm not sure if anyone else has ever really said thanks for a chapter.

**Guest(#3): **Don't worry about the misspelling, it happens to all of us.

**duskrider (In response to chapter 4): **Xion will be appearing in this story, so I completely agree with you.

**Duskrider: **Sorry, but I don't have any plans for that even though it sounds cool. Thanks anyway for the awesome ideas.

**Kurai K and Syn:**. …Um…sorry?

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: **You'll find out what was with the Xion nightmare next chapter. Originally I wanted part of the resolution for that to be this chapter, but it was taking too long. Anyway, I'm sorry about the somewhat short chapters, but they're all around 3000 words. That's not bad, right?

**TehUnoman: **Thanks for backing me up. I've been getting a lot of reviews giving me a hard time about updating recently, so it's nice to have some support.

**Guest (#4): **Your review was AMAZING! It actually inspired the dinner scene in this chapter. I'm not sure if that will pan out into an actual fight, but we'll see. To be honest, even I'm not completely sure what's going to happen between Roxas and Weiss.

**Kuroyami Fukaikuro: **…Man, tough crowd. I completely understand where you're coming from, but a little diplomacy is greatly appreciated.

**Lorion: **Dude(or lady, I try not to discriminate), you have no idea how happy it makes me to have someone who understands the relation between quality and time. Thanks for backing me up. If I could, I would kiss your shoes. Just, not in a creepy way. I'm just gonna stop talking now before I say something else that's stupid.

**Ksebala1: **At least you were polite about asking for faster updates… As I said before, I'm really sorry but there's not much I can do about the update times. I have no real update schedule because I don't want to rush to meet deadlines, so you guys are just going to have to wait. Sorry.

And those were all the reviews I received, all fourteen of them. As per usual; Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


	10. 8 - The Girl Who Never Was

AN: Hey all, Ventusblade here with the newest chapter of I Am Me. I felt bad about the massive cliffhanger in the last chapter, so I wanted to finish this chapter quickly. Whether that happened or not is another story, but that was my intent. Anyway, this chapter should be a very exciting one if everything went according to my plan. Without further ado, I present to you chapter 8 of I Am Me.

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><p><strong>(Ruby POV)<strong>

After dinner, my team silently made our way to our dorm, no one wanting to discuss what just happened. We all went through our pre-bed routines, still maintaining the harsh atmosphere. Only when we had lain down on our respective beds did I try to broach the subject of Roxas and the events of dinner.

"I feel awful about dinner," I said, breaking the commanding silence.

I heard Weiss huff loudly. "I don't understand why. It's not as though you did anything."

Yang rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows. "But you did. I'm with you on being concerned about the new kids, especially Roxas, but I also agree with Blake."

"I only said what was true," Weiss defended stubbornly. "The way I see it, there's a reason Roxas said Nobodies shouldn't exist."

Blake groaned in irritation as sat up on her bed. "We are not getting into this again. I already-"

"I'm not going to let you!" Ven's muffled voice yelled, seeping through the wall dividing his dorm and ours.

"What's going on in there?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Shh!" Yang exclaimed. "Let's see if we can hear what's up."

"This is so childish," Weiss admonished.

"Just do it." Yang commanded, rolling her eyes at the heiress' superior tone.

The four of us fell silent, waiting for the next outburst from the neighboring. We didn't have to wait long.

"This has nothing to do with you!" This time it was Roxas' voice. "It's about me! This is MY second chance, and I refuse to live it as an outcast!"

_Are Roxas and Ven fighting?_ I was speechless. It seemed like Roxas was so in control all the time. To hear him so emotional was unsettling.

"Why are you acting this way?" Ven yelled. "Is this about what Weiss said?"

"Of course this is about what Weiss said!" Roxas yelled.

I stuck my head below my bed to glare at my white haired teammate. "Good job, Weiss!"

Weiss merely lay back down and rolled over to face the wall, pulling her blanket over herself.

"Ven let go of me!"

I looked across the room to Yang and Blake, a pained expression on my face. "Should we do something?" My voice came out slightly higher in pitch than I had intended.

Yang bit her lip thoughtfully. "As much fun as sneaking into a boys' dorm sounds, I think I'll pass. I heard about how Roxas and Ven fought on their first day, and I would hate to get in between that." With that, my older sister rolled onto her side and settled in to sleep.

"But Yaaaang!" I complained, annoyed by my sister's dismissive attitude.

Yang sighed and sat back up, looking up at me. "I'm sorry little sis, but I guess I'm just confused. I really want to give Roxas the benefit of the doubt, but we still don't know so much. I just need some time to think." Yang yawned and settled back into a comfortable position. "G'night, sis."

Finally I looked to Blake, only to find that the black haired girl was already laying with her back to me and the covers pulled over her head.

_Guess this is a solo mission._ I slid off my bed and tiptoed past my teammates to the door. Carefully, I turned the handle and stepped into the hallway.

I traversed the hallway, the hard floor like ice against my bare feet, until I found myself in front of the dorm numbered thirteen.

"Let go!" I heard Roxas yell from within the room.

"Not until you get rid of the corridor!" Came Ventus' muffled reply.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Almost immediately the sounds of the twins' struggle ceased, giving way to frantic footsteps pounding on the ground.

"One minute!" Roxas yelled.

"We're…" Ven's voice paused, as if he were trying to come up with a valid excuse. "Doing keyblade wielder things!"

_…What does that even mean?_

A moment later Ventus opened the door to greet me. "Ruby? What are you doing over here?" The boy asked in an almost overly cheery voice.

"It sounded like you two were fighting. Is something wrong?" I tried to look past Ven into the dorm, but he moved to block my view. From what I could see, the twin's dorm was orderly and neat. The desk wasn't flipped over, there were no holes in the wall, and the floor was spotless. I couldn't see their sleeping area, but I had no reason to believe it would look any different from the rest of the room.

I momentarily halted my examination of the dorm and cocked my head to the side, a slight frown on my face. "What's that humming sound?"

"Nothing!" Roxas answered a little too quickly, simultaneously flicking his wrist. Strangely enough, the noise stopped after his quick hand movement.

_That…was a little too convenient._ "Oooookay. Anyway, are you guys sure that everything is fine? I mean, it sounded like you were having a seriously big argument." I eyed the brothers with a concerned gaze, the way a mother might examine a fallen child.

Ventus chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Ruby. We were just talking about some things." He smiled to ease my worry, but the warmth of his smile didn't reach his eyes.

Again, I looked past Ven, focusing my attention on his twin. Roxas had his head down and his arms at his side, but as soon as he noticed my gaze he flashed an obviously fake smile.

_This is hopeless. _"If you say so…" I could almost hear Roxas and Ven's sighs of relief. "See you at breakfast." I turned to walk back to my dorm.

"Yeah, sleep well," Ventus called after me as I made my way down the hall. Moments later I heard the slamming sound of his door shutting.

"Glad I could help," I muttered despondently, not bothering to even look over my shoulder.

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><p><strong>(Ventus POV)<strong>

I leaned against the shut door, all my energy having left me. "That was way too close."

"And whose fault was that?" Roxas needled from a slumped over position, sitting on the edge of his bed. Thankfully he didn't sound angry or annoyed, just exhausted.

I smiled and walked over to join Roxas, plopping down onto the bed beside my twin as the wooden frame squeaked under our combined weight. "That would be you 'dear brother'," I joked, lightly poking Roxas in the side.

"Get real. Look which one of us started yelling first."

I flopped onto my back with a soft thud. "I guess I was being pretty stupid."

Roxas laughed. "Same here. Sorry for threatening to go through the Corridor. I just don't want my second chance to be just like my first chance."

"I know. I don't want that either." We enjoyed a quiet moment before I forced myself to get off the bed and stand up. "Anyway, we can talk about this in the morning." I started toward my bed, but suddenly did an about face. "Just promise me you won't go anywhere tonight."

Roxas jumped up and did a cheesy salute, similar to how I saluted back when I was Master Eraqus' apprentice. "Keyblade wielder's honor."

I sighed and shook my head. "How did Axel never push you off that clock tower?"

"A whole lot of self-restraint?" Roxas guessed in a lighthearted tone.

"It takes more than self-restraint to put up with you," I joked, much to Roxas' chagrin. "I'm going to sleep. See you in the morning."

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><p><strong>(Roxas POV)<strong>

I found myself standing in a gray room in the shape of a semicircle. In front of me was a massive semicircular window acting as the front wall of the room. Outside the window, a heart-shaped moon shone brightly in the dark sky. Behind me was a long corridor. On either side of the room were small groupings of two chairs, a sofa, and a coffee table, all keeping with the gray color scheme of the room.

I recognized the room immediately. _The Grey Room… Why am I at The Castle That Never Was? I don't remember walking through the Dark Corridor. And if I'm here why am I wearing my Beacon uniform instead of my Organization coat?_

"Morning Thirteen!" called a warm excited voice.

I spun around to see Xion sprinting toward me from down the corridor. Before I could respond I heard my voice answer.

"Good morning Xion. Where's Axel?" Standing beside me was, well, me. The other me was clad in my Organization get up, long black coat zipped up from the top, black gloves, and black boots. "Don't tell me he's bailing on the trip to Twilight Town."

Xion shrugged, bouncing lightly on the balls of here feet. "He said he was going to sleep until Saïx drags him out of bed." She huffed in frustration. "How can he waste an entire day sleeping when we barely get any vacations?"

The other me smiled and shrugged. "That's Axel for you. Anyway, we should head out. We'll have a day for just us 'special Nobodies'." With that the other Roxas opened a Dark Corridor which he and Xion walked through.

"How is it watching your memories?" inquired a familiar voice.

I turned to find Sora, dressed in his usual baggy black and red outfit with his crown pendant hanging around his neck. "I take it you found a way to make the dream thing work?"

Sora beamed and placed his hands on his hips, as if posing heroically. "Was there ever any doubt?" He asked, lowering his voice to sound more dramatic.

I stared at Sora, both eyebrows raised to the point where it almost hurt. "Yes," I answered dryly. "What're the specs?"

"I can pretty much contact anyone as long as they're asleep, but only for a limited amount of time. It's taking me longer than I'd like to get used to controlling the light precisely," Sora conceded.

"You visit Kairi yet?"

Sora's reaction was better than I could have hoped for. He began chuckling nervously with an expression on his face that seemed to indicate physical discomfort. It was immensely amusing to see the supreme being of light terrified by a teenage girl.

"Didn't go well?" I asked, barely able to hide the smile growing on my face.

Sora cleared his throat attempting to regain his composure. "Yeah…" He paused, likely still traumatized by the verbal, and probably physical, beating he no doubt received from the pink haired keyblade wielder. "Anyway, there was a reason I came to visit. I wanted to ask if you'd been having any trouble with your keyblades."

"Actually, I had some trouble summoning Oathkeeper." I paused, confused why Sora would ask me that so randomly.

My Somebody simply smiled. "That just means she's almost ready to make her entrance."

"Xion?" I breathed hopefully, barely reaching above a whisper.

Instead of answering my question, Sora raised the pointer and middle fingers of his right hand to his forehead in a quick salute, the gentle smile on his face morphing into a toothy grin. "Tell her I say hi."

With that the dream faded to nothingness and my consciousness began drowning in the ocean of sleep.

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><p>BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!<p>

I blearily opened one eye, afraid of where I might find myself. Thankfully, I was still in my dorm room in Beacon, lying on my comfortable bed. I was still wearing my uniform from last night, which I had never bothered to take off.

_Maybe I can just go back to sleep,_ I thought as I slammed my hand down on the clock beside my bed to shut up the alarm, closing my eyes again.

"Roxas wake up!" Ven's loud voice and incessant tapping on my shoulder squashed my hopes of returning to sleep. His voice sounded surprisingly flustered for the day having just started.

"What?" I moaned, brushing off my twin's hand and turning over onto my other side. "Would it kill you to let me just sleep?"

"Just get up!" My twin exclaimed breathlessly, as if he had been running.

My eyes shot open as I pulled myself out of bed, realizing that something was seriously wrong. "What's going on? Heartless?"

Ven shook his head. "I went for a walk and found someone in the front of the school!"

I stared at my twin, the panic that had been building inside me transforming into annoyance. "Good job, Ven! If you want to find people, you go outside. What a concept!" I praised sarcastically before attempting to return to my bed.

"They were wearing an Organization XIII coat."

I froze mid stride, my eyes widening and my breath catching in my throat. "No way," I breathed. I spun around in to face Ven, my mind moving at an alarming pace. "Where?"

"Where Ruby and Jaune found us."

I didn't need any more information. I pushed past my twin and out of our dorm, sprinting down the hall.

I didn't stop sprinting until I reached Beacon's main entrance, frantically scanning the area for the person Ven had mentioned. Finally I saw them, the collapsed form of a girl, lying on the ground.

I recognized the girl instantly. Her short black hair parted to the right, her slightly rounded face and slender build, the purple and yellow seashell lying by her right hand.

As I stared at the collapsed girl, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Only one word managed to escape my lips. "Xion."

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><p>AN: And that brings chapter 8 of I Am Me to a close. I hope you liked the chapter, especially the part where I FINALLY introduced Xion. I know it took me far too long to get to that, and I'd like to thank you all for being so patient. Anyway, I'll start developing Xion as a character next chapter, however I'm unsure as whether to simply continue following the cannon plot or to skip around to the best parts of Volume 1. What do you guys think? Now without further ado, let's move on to the reviews.<p>

**lioncousin: **Glad you like the last chapter! To be honest, I forgot about Dark Coridoors until I went back to play 358/2 days (for the 18th time). Roxas losing his ability to use Oathkeeper is important, as you'll see later with Xion and her keyblade. That's the only hint I'm going to give. Well, aside from what I said in this chapter.**luke shadowrider: **You're welcome, and thanks for the politeness! Also, sorry about that cliffhanger, but I felt it was a good place to end the last chapter.**The Eternal Forgotten: **Yeah, I got a lot of people giving me grief about the cliffhanger. Should I try not to do those? As to why Roxas can't use Oathkeeper, I think I pretty much said the significance of that in this chapter.  
><strong>Kuroyami Fukaikuro: <strong>Don't worry about that first review, I was just trying to remind people to be somewhat polite. It's one of my pet peeves. Anyway, I see what you mean, but I didn't want to cause any major conflict between the main characters at this point, especially with Roxas and Ventus just trying to fit in at Beacon.  
><strong>SunnyStormCloud: <strong>Unfortunately, yes, I did have to finish the last chapter with a cliffhanger. I'll try to avoid those in the future.

And with that I bid you adieu until next chapter. As always, Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


	11. 9 - Riding the Riptide

AN: Hey all, what's up? It's Ventusblade with another chapter of I Am Me. I've been having major writer's block so I'm not sure how this chapter came out. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to focus on Roxas and Xion or the RWBY cannon. I eventually decided to mix the two. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

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><p><strong>(Xion POV)<strong>

I found myself floating in a sea of pure white. There was nothing; no pain, no warmth, no light. There was only the vast nothingness of oblivion.

_This is how it should be._

Now that I had returned to Sora everything would be as it should. Sora would regain the memories buried within me, the power that had flowed into me from Roxas would return to its rightful owner, and all memories of me would vanish as though they never happened.

I took comfort in that last detail, knowing that my friends wouldn't have to mourn my demise. You can't feel sorrow over what you can't remember.

"Xion!" Roxas's voice cried in a chocked voice. "You can't disappear! Who will I eat ice cream with?"

I was shocked. It requires a heart for someone to be able to cry, yet my best friend was in tears over my death.

"How did this happen?" This time I heard Axel's voice, despondent and defeated.

_Did I really cause my friends so much grief? _

"I've caused all of you so much pain."

_This voice…Sora._

"You, Axel, Roxas. All your lives were torn apart because of me and the battle for Kingdom Hearts." The Key bearer's voice was not the same as the carefree boy I had seen in his memories. Instead his voice sounded grave and sorrowful. "I can never undo what has been done, but I can give you a second chance."

_A second chance?_

"A chance to live as yourself," Sora continued. "I know that won't make up for what you went through, but it's what I can offer." The bodiless voice paused. "You're finally ready."

With that, the white scenery grew dark and my consciousness slipped below the water.

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><p><strong>(Ventus POV)<strong>

My mind was a mess as I made my way to General History, the silent halls of Beacon allowing my thoughts to run rampant.

_What are we going to do about Xion? Everyone's already nervous about Roxas being a Nobody. Maybe we can hide her?_ I shook my head at the idea. _That's idiotic. We might as well just try to hide the fact that she's a Nobody._ I sighed, feeling the beginning of a headache. "We're going to need to get her something besides her coat."

"Beg your pardon," demanded a hurried, but authoritative voice.

I started in surprise at the unexpected voice, finally tearing myself away from my thoughts. I was standing in the back of a lecture hall, my hand still on the door knob of the entrance.

_When did I get here?_

The seats were raised to provide students in the back rows a better view. In the front of the room was a semicircular desk that was littered with papers strewn about haphazardly and map plastered to the wall behind the desk with news articles affixed to different locations connected by red pieces of red string. Standing behind the desk was the professor, a thermos in one hand and a wooden pointer in the other.

Professor Oobleck, as my schedule had informed me, looked more like a mad scientist than a history professor. First of all, he had a mess of green hair that he wore slicked back and wore circular wire rimmed glasses. He wore a plain white button down shirt with a yellow tie, and a pair of dull grey slacks. However, the collar on his shirt was upturned, the collar was left unbuttoned, and only the left side of his shirt was tucked into his slacks. It was as though he had woken up late and had been in a rush to get dressed.

"Nothing!" I exclaimed hurriedly, desperately scanning the room for anything that could help me out of the uncomfortable situation. The first thing I laid eyes on was Weiss, who was adjusting the top button on her uniform's jacket. "I was just talking about Weiss's coat," I mumbled, my cheeks burning as the rest of the class began chuckling.

Professor Oobleck glared at me, less than pleased with disruption to his class. "Well then Mr…"

"Ventus," I offered quietly, staring at my shoes.

"Mr. Ventus. If you are through inspecting Miss Schnee's attire, would you kindly take a seat? There is an open desk next to Mr. Arc."

I dragged myself to the front left of the classroom and fell into the seat beside Jaune, who had been unsuccessfully trying to hide the smirk on his face.

"Seriously?" Jaune whispered as the professor continued his lecture. "Weiss's jacket?"

"Shut up," I growled, ripping a piece of paper from Jaune's notbook and stealing his extra pencil. "It was the best I could come up with."

"Alrighty then," Jaune relented. "Why are you so late? Class started twenty minutes ago."

I could only sigh in response. "Roxas and I ran into a little trouble," I answered simply, not wanting to divulge too much information.

"What kind of trouble?" Jaune demanded in a whisper, his voice losing its lighthearted tone. "Those Heartless things? You didn't leave Roxas alone to fight those things, did you?"

I was still in the middle of coming up with a plausible lie when Professor Oobleck's voice interrupted Jaune's and my conversation.

"Mr. Arc, finally contributing to class, wonderful, simply wonderful," the professor exclaimed without pausing, zooming to Jaune's desk in the form of a green blur. "Now, what is the answer?"

"Uh," Jaune floundered, searching the room as if the answer to Oobleck's mystery question would appear on the walls.

One row back, I noticed Pyrrha pointing to her eyes and miming binocular.

"Binoculars," Jaune declared proudly.

Once again, that class began chuckling as Oobleck eyed Jaune in disappointment. "No," he replied simply. "Cardin, perhaps you could share your thoughts on the subject. What was the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagoon's forces?" The professor directed toward the student sitting behind Jaune and I. He was leaning back in his seat and had his feet resting on his desk sending a clear message that he did not care about the lecture.

"Well," Cardin began with a smirk. "I it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier."

"You're not the most open minded of people, are you Cardin?" Pyrrha demanded before anyone could get a word in.

"What, you got a problem, girlie?" Cardin jeered.

_Wow, that guy is a jerk._

Pyrrha sighed in irritation. "No, I have the answer. Many Faunus have a type of night vision that allows them to see almost perfectly in the dark. General Lagoon made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep and his troops were wiped out."

"Precisely!" The professor exclaimed, satisfied with Pyrrha's answer. "Class is dismissed. Mr. Arc, and Mr. Winchester, please remain here for a moment. I would like to talk with the two of you."

Almost immediately students began collecting their personal items and heading for the door. I patted Jaune on the shoulder apologetically and hurried to catch the rest of team JNPR before I lost them in the horde of students.

_I hope Roxas and Xion are alright…_

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><p><strong>(Xion POV)<strong>

Pain.

That was all I was able to process, searing pain like a stake being shoved through my skull.

I forced my eyes open, fighting the nausea and dizziness as the sudden influx of light caused me to cringe in pain. After what felt like an eternity, my eyes adjusted and I was able to slowly take in my surroundings.

I found myself lying on a somewhat narrow bed beside three other identical beds in a sparsely furnished square room that had ornate grey and beige wallpaper and black carpeting. On my right was a large rectangular window overlooking a breathtakingly lush forest.

_Where am I?_

I turned my head to the left and found myself face to face with a boy with windswept blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. The boy was dressed in a pale white button down shirt with a vibrant red tie, a black vest with gold trim, and a pair of black slacks.

"Do I know you?" I could have sworn I'd seen the boy before, but I wasn't sure. The pain induced haze plaguing my brain definitely was not helping my attempts to identify him.

The unnamed boy simply stared at me, mouth agape and eyes wide.

Without warning my vision doubled and another wave of agony assaulted my brain, forcing me to double over and cry out.

"Xion!"

_That voice…_

I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, threatening to break my ribs. "I missed you so much," Roxas breathed, his arms trembling.

My mind cleared in single that instant. My body moved on its own, leaping from the bed and practically tackling Roxas. We stayed like that for a moment, neither of us saying a word, before Roxas gently disentangled himself from my arms.

The initial shock of seeing Roxas having faded, I fixed my best friend with a serious gaze. "What happened to the Organization? To Kingdom Hearts?"

"The Organization is gone, defeated by Sora in the battle for Kingdom Hearts, and Sora gave up his heart to become Kingdom Hearts." Roxas waited as I digested the information.

"But we were both in his heart. Shouldn't we have disappeared for good?"

"Sora found a way to send the three of us to a world called Remnant."

"The three of us?" I was about to question Roxas further when my stomach rumbled its opinion, causing the boy to chuckle in amusement.

"Maybe we should hold that thought until you've had some food," Roxas suggested, offering me a hand.

"What a gentleman," I teased.

Roxas shrugged. "Don't get too used to it." With that he led me out of the room and down a quiet narrow hallway.

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><p><strong>(Roxas POV)<strong>

"Remember, try to act like you belong here," I told Xion for at least the fifth time since we left the dorm. "Don't look around too much, or ask too many questions."

"Roxas." Xion patted me on the shoulder to get me to relax. "I'll be fine. You said this was a school, right? They probably get new students all the time."

"You'd be surprised," I muttered, continuing to lead Xion toward an empty table in the back of the room. "Anyway, I'll introduce you to Ven tonight when we go back to the dorm. He's the third person I was talking about." I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see my black haired friend keeping pace with me. All I saw was empty space.

_Where did she go?!_

"Leave her alone!" I heard Xion demand angrily.

My eyes dashed around the room, frantically searching for a black coat, before resting upon a small group at table near the front of the dining hall. In the middle of the group sat a female student with long brown hair and a pair of rabbit ears sprouting from the top of her head.

Sitting around the girl, as if to box her in, were four male students. One I instantly recognized as the guy I'd fought during Combat Theory, Cardin Winchester. He was pulling on the girl's long ears with a smirk plastered to his face as his team laughed and cheered him on, the crying out in pain as he continued to pull.

Standing before Cardin was Xion, her eyes ablaze and her fists balled. Even with Cardin sitting down, Xion was just barely taller than him.

"Did you say something?" Cardin demanded menacingly, releasing his grip on the girl with rabbit ears to glare Xion.

"I said, leave her alone." Xion stood her ground, returning the boys glare.

I began moving quickly, pushing past other students who were already turning to watch the confrontation.

"She's always in the middle of something," I muttered.

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><p>AN: And that brings chapter 9 to a close. I'm really sorry about the short chapter, but I just wanted to give you guys something. In case you couldn't tell, I decided to follow the cannon plot of RWBY. Right now I'm working on the Jaunedice arc. However, I've already planned some things to deviate from the plot…(cough) heartless (cough). ANYWAY, shall we move on to the reviews?<p>

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: **Indeed Xion is back. We started to see a bit more of her this chapter and will continue to do so. I plan on making her a major player in the Jaunedice arc.**  
>Lorion: <strong>Glad you like the last chapter! I also will take your suggestion to skip around considering some plot lines are less integral than others. For instance, I may create some original stuff that focuses on the Keyblade Trio (as I'm calling them) and then go right to Blake's faunus arc.**  
>Kamen Rider Sting: <strong>Glad you like Xion. She's a really cool character, and I'm hoping she comes back in KH 3! Also, who's your favorite character if Xion's your second favorite? Mine is Roxas.**  
>Kuroyami Fukaikuro: <strong>All the points you made about WBY are completely valid, but I just wasn't being very attentive I guess…sorry about that. I'll try not to deviate from their personalities so much in future chapters. Also, I haven't really considered Xion's fighting style too much. In 358 Days, they make a big deal about how Xion's keyblade is just like Roxas' and how she fights just like him. However, that was due to Sora memories that were within her, so I'm not sure what to do. I want to give her a keyblade other than the Kingdom Key, but I'm not good with making up weapons. Finally, Roxas and Sora being ambidextrous makes sense. Thanks for the continued support!**  
>Guest: <strong>Honestly, I was going to have Roxas only use one keyblade, like in the majority of 358/2 Days. I could explore the possibility of giving him a second keyblade, but it would take some major BSing on my part. Like I said, Roxas was only able to dual wield because of Xion returning his power. Now that she's back, her keyblade has returned to its rightful owner. Sorry if you were excited about Roxas dual wielding, I was too, but I just couldn't make it work. Sorry again.**  
>Maya I. Hendricks (formerly Kuraikaze52): <strong>Hells yeah she is! Also, I'm still confused about who Syn is…. Do you two share the account? Is Syn a figment of your imagination or an alter ego? Whatever, as long as he/she/it are enjoying the story, it's all-good. Finally, cool name change!

And those were all the reviews. Now, to quote my favorite anime reviewer (Arkada), "ladies, gentlemen, and others until next time…stay frosty." Read, Rate and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


	12. 10 - Prayer of the Refugee

AN: Hey all, Ventusblade here with chapter 10 of I Am Me. I'm actually pretty happy with this chapter, which is surprising since I'm usually overly-critical of my writing. With the world now sufficiently developed, I feel like I can start moving toward a more solid plot over the randomness of previous chapters. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

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><p><strong>(Xion POV)<strong>

For the entirety of my relatively short life I had been looked down upon, viewed as a tool. To the leaders of the Organization my ability to wield the keyblade was the sole value I possessed. To the rest of the members, with the exception of Roxas and Axel, I was nothing more than a puppet, a replica created to copy the Keybearer's power. In other words, I was even lower than a Nobody.

As a result, I can't stand people picking on or degrading others. This is why I found myself standing in front of a lunch table in an unfamiliar world confronting a burly blonde haired boy who, along with his group of three friends, had been harassing a meek looking girl with chocolate brown rabbit ears sprouting from the top of her head.

"Leave her alone," I repeated, doing my best to sound authoritative. Around me I could hear the buzz of the room, blissfully unaware of the disturbance.

"Listen, girlie." The boy sneered, hefting himself to his feet. He towered over me, forcing me to crane my neck just to look him in the eyes. "I'm not sure who you think you are, but it's obvious you don't belong here. So why don't you just turn around and mind your own business." The boy forcefully shoved my shoulder, spinning me around, before turning back to his table and the cornered girl, who noticeably tensed as he approached.

My hands clenched into tight fist at my sides. What gave him the right to act that way? I took a step closer to the table, my thoughts filled with the blue haired icy commander of the Organization. My foot hadn't even made contact with the linoleum floor when a hand latched around my wrist and yanked me back, leaving me stumbling to maintain my balance.

"What are you doing?" Roxas demanded in an urgent whisper, pulling me behind him as if to hide me. "This is _not_ laying low." Before I could even open my mouth to protest, Roxas spun on his heels and began to quickly drag me toward the cafeteria door, threatening to tear my arm out of its socket. Behind us I could hear the taunts of the four boys, some directed at the girl others directed at the blonde boy holding my wrist.

"That's it, keep walking Roxas. Show everyone just how worthless you really are."

Roxas' grip on my hand tightened painfully, causing me to wince as my bones screamed in protest. "Roxas!" The boy didn't even respond, his face expressionless, but in his eyes I saw something; anger and pain.

I didn't need to know anything more. Whatever Roxas had endured upon arriving in this word had been neither easy nor pleasant. And while he would never admit to it, the pain it was causing him was enough rattle him.

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><p><strong>(Roxas POV)<strong>

The run back to the dorm was eternity. I only had one thought, "get Xion out of sight now".

So when we finally reached room thirteen with the door left wide open during the morning's rush, I practically flung my black haired friend inside. The force sent her flying, stumbling and flailing to remain on her feet. I followed half a second behind her, slamming the door shut as I crossed the threshold.

For a moment the only sound in the room was our heavy breathing, each of us attempting to catch our breath. Xion was the first to break the silence.

"Why didn't you stop him?" Her voice was neither angry nor accusing. No it was filled with something much worse, disappointment.

I opened my mouth only to close it again, like a fish out of water. There was no excuse I could offer. To my friend I was Roxas, the one she could count on to help anyone I could. But I couldn't be that Roxas here, and that made me sick to my stomach. "Things are different here," I answered lamely, my friend remaining silent to signal for me to continue. I took a deep breath and slowly dragging myself to my bed. I fell back onto the edge of the soft mattress and took a deep breath, steeling myself for the long explanation.

"A few days after Ven and I arrived here, some people found out what about Nobodies and Ven let slip that I'm somehow connected to them. After that it took them all of five minutes to figure out that two and two equals four." My voice was harsh and bitter, surprising even me. I felt the bed shudder as my friend lowered herself next to me. "Xion, they're scared of me."

My head was a mess. Anger toward the students of Beacon clouding reason, the hot knife of self-loathing wrenching itself deep in my chest, the soothing relief that Xion was now with me. Those warring emotions ripped through my mind, shattering my calm and controlled persona. "I-I don't know what to do." My tightening throat choked my last words. There was that feeling again, the same one I had experience when I lost Xion. I had hoped to never experience it again…

Xion reached over and grasped my hand supportively her small gloved fingers attempting to envelope my own. "They just don't know the real Roxas. Besides-" Xion reached for my Organization coat at the foot of my bed and draped it around my shoulders- "now there's two of us! The Twilight Town Trio looks out for our own!" She turned to me with a Sora-sized grin and an expecting gleam in her eyes.

A small smile forced its way onto my face, and I couldn't help but laugh. "The Twilight Town Trio?" I asked incredulously, my eyebrow rising to the point where it almost hurt. "Since when has that been a thing? I highly doubt Axel would've approved anything that dumb."

Xion grinned before turning her nose up in fabricated indignation. "Since five seconds ago," she informed me matter-of-factly, huffing for extra effect. "And it's not stupid. You just lack ability to see my genius when it comes to names."

I couldn't stop myself from bursting out in laughter, each bout doubling me over as my lungs tried and failed to suck in air. I hadn't realized it before, but I had needed this, to let my guard down and laugh like an idiot with my best friend.

Those past weeks, I had been always on guard, always looking over my shoulder to t keep to myself and keep everyone else out. And while that had been the best way to protect myself, it did my happiness no favors.

After a moment of Xion patiently waiting for my laugher to die down, she spoke up, her tone slightly more serious than before. "It's been really hard for you." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," I murmured quietly as I leaned into my friend's shoulder, allowing a comfortable silence to fall between us. That is, until Xion decided to ruin the moment.

"So, I assume by the monkey suit you're a student here?" Xion asked innocently. I merely grunted in reply, too comfortable to retaliate to the jab at my attire as my eyes drooped. "I'll take that as a yes." Again, I only grunted. "So you have classes, right?"

I shot to my feet faster than I had ever moved before. "Crap, crap, crap! I'm so late!" I rushed around the room in search of my notebook ignoring the amused smirk on Xion's face. I mentally reviewed my schedule. It was second period meaning…Combat Theory. "Can't wait to sit next to Weiss," I groaned sardonically, finally finding my notebook under Ventus' bed. "I swear she's more condescending than Larxene. As if it's not bad enough that she thinks I shouldn't exist," I muttered darkly. On that mildly infuriating note, I rushed to the door and looked over my shoulder at my friend, who was still seated on my bed with that same amused look on her face. "Don't leave the room, especially not in your coat. I'll be back later, so just sit tight until then," I ordered quickly, turning the doorknob and swinging the door open.

"Got it, Saïx!" My friend chirped, giggle slightly at her own joke.

I rolled my eyes. _Why did I ever miss her?_ Deciding to ignore her comment, I took a step into the hall and started sprinting.

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><p><strong>(Xion POV)<strong>

The door to Roxas' dorm clicked shut, leaving me staring at the empty space where my blonde haired friend had been. With a sigh I swung my legs up onto the bed and flopped onto my back. Stay in the dorm? Roxas had to be joking. I had a body again, I was in a new and exciting world, and I was a veteran of reconnaissance missions. What did Roxas expect me to do, stare at the walls, look out the window at all the different things I could be doing?

My mind set on a course of action, I took stock of the room and what it offered. About two feet to my left was another bed, likely belonging to the room's other occupant, Ven. The sheets and blanket were messily tangled in each other, but on the pillow at the head lay a blazer identical to the one Roxas had been wearing, a three button black coat with gold trim and a circle with two axes on the right breast.

_If I'm going to ignore Roxas, I can at least make myself less conspicuous. _I rolled onto my stomach and reached across the small gap between the two beds for the blazer, my hand closing around the soft fabric. I got to my feet and shrugged out of my large Organization coat, swapping it for the blazer. "Alright Xion!" I cheered. "Let's go explore!"

Roxas' words rang in my head. The only helpful piece of information I had been able to gleam from his brooding was that there was some type of friction between him and a person called Weiss. If that was part of what was plaguing Roxas, maybe I could do something to help my friend. Quickly I revised my objectives. "Alright Xion! Let's explore _and_ find out about this Weiss person!"

With my goals set and my fancy new coat, I made my way out of the dorm and into the unknown.

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><p><strong>(Ruby POV)<strong>

"I'm so late! Weiss is going to kill me!" I scolded myself as I sprinted from my dorm toward Combat Theory. Evidently my plan to watch "just one more episode of X-Ray and Vav" had back fired, one episode turning into ten. Thanks to my utter lack of self-control when it came to the best/worst superheroes on the planet, I was twenty minutes late to class, one of the most severe crimes on Goodwitch's list of transgressions. In a desperate attempt to make up for lost time I activated my semblance.

But being me, I rounded a corner and slammed directly into a girl walking the opposite direction. We collided, heads smashing together painfully before being launched back. We both hit the floor with a loud smack and lay there for a second, too stunned to move. The unfamiliar girl was the first to recover, dragging herself to her feet and stumbling over to me to offer her hand.

"I'm sorry, I should've been watching where I was going," she apologized, her gentle voice warm and friendly. Gratefully, I accepted her hand and she pulled me to my feet, ignoring the dull pain in my forehead. "I'm Xion, by the way." The girl said, pushing a strand of the black hair that framed her face out of her eyes.

"Xion,"I repeated as if in a trance. I was certain I had heard that name before, but the memory was just frustratingly out reach. Nonetheless, I offered a polite smile and introduced myself. "Nice to meet you, Xion. I'm Ruby." We stood there silently, neither of us sure how to continue. "Um…sorry for running into you, I'm kinda late for class so I'm in a bit of a rush."

Xion waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, it was nice to meet you, Ruby." The black haired girl made to leave, but hesitated, turning back to face me. "Actually, do you know someone called Weiss?"

I started in surprise, suddenly perking up with interest. "Yeah, she's on my team. Do you know her?"

Xion shook her head, rocking back and forth on her heels. "Not really. I'm actually a new student here, today is my first day." No wonder I hadn't recognized her. "I have a friend who's been going here for a little while and I think he might be fighting with your teammate. He just doesn't seem like himself and I'm hoping I can help him," she explained.

"Makes sense," I nodded. "Weiss can be a little…" I paused, picking my words carefully so not to give Xion the wrong idea, "difficult. What's your friend's name?" I asked, hoping to get a clearer picture of what was going on. Maybe Xion was a friend of Jaune's, he was always striking out in his attempts at the "snow angel".

"Roxas," Xion answered hesitantly, surprising me more than any other thing she could have said. "He's usually so warm and friendly, but he seems so…" Xion fumbled for the right word, "different." She sighed, visibly depressed by the change in her friend, eyes down cast and arms folded.

"Roxas?" I repeated, annoyed at myself simply parroting the girl. Did she mean Roxas, the boy who seemed to go out of his way to avoid everyone? The Roxas who had admitted to having no heart without any signs emotion? _That_ Roxas was supposedly super friendly? If it were between Weiss joining the White Fang and Roxas being as Xion described him, my lien would be on the White Fang gaining a new member.

Suddenly my memory kicked in and everything clicked. "Wait! You're Xion!" I exclaimed, causing my new acquaintance to jump in surprise.

"Uh…yes?"

"You're the girl Roxas mistook me for!" I was practically jumping up and down with excitement as Xion stared at me with a bemused expression, eyebrows reaching for the ceiling. "You're Roxas' friend!" Again, Xion nodded, her eyes exposing her confusion. "You're the girl Roxas said disappeared!" I burst, remembering what the Nobody had told my sister up on the balcony.

Xion's face suddenly darkened, her mouth thinning into a hard line. "How do you-" I didn't give the girl a chance to finish her question.

"Let's go find a place to talk!" Before the raven-haired girl could answer, I grabbed her hand and began pulling her toward the outdoor commons area by the entrance of the school, ignoring her yelp of surprise. One thought dominated my mind as I began walking, dragging the protesting Xion behind me.

_This is my chance to learn about Roxas, the real Roxas._

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><p>AN: IT'S FINALLY FINISHED! I mean the chapter, not the story. This thing was a monster to write, mostly because of school figuratively smashing me into the ground. On the subject of school, does anyone else notice that FanFic becomes somewhat stagnant during this time of the year? Just something that I found interesting. Let me know if you've noticed it too or if I'm just insane.<p>

Anyway,as you can probably guess, Weiss is becoming more pivotal. Admittedly, I don't really like Weiss as a character, so it may be a little awkward the first few times I write from her perspective and for that I apologize. But, the plot is starting to heat up now that Xion and Ruby have met. What will Crater-Face ask the Girl Who Never Was? How will Weiss become important? Will Ventus finally get some screen time? I guess we'll find out in chapter 11. For now, let's move on to the reviews.

**Maya I. Hendricks: **Great! Tell Syn thanks, whoever that mysterious enigma may be. And yes, that was very redundant on my part.  
><strong>Antex-The Legendary Zoroark:<strong> I agree, Xion is awesome. Hope you liked this little intro of hers into the world of Remnant. Also, thank you so much for giving me your feedback on my plans for the plot and such, it was crazy helpful. You're awesome and I hope you're enjoying the story.  
><strong>Lorion: <strong>Glad you liked the last chapter! Unfortunately, or fortunately if you want to look at it that way, my plans for the story have change so the cannon of RWBY will probably become less important. That's not to say I won't include it at all, but it won't be the main focus. I hope you like the story regardless.  
><strong>Kamen Rider Sting:<strong> I have to agree that Zexion is pretty awesome. Anyway, what is rokushi? Is that some shipping of characters? Riku and Xion (that's just my best guess)? Just to be safe I'm going to say no since Riku won't be in this story.  
><strong>Kuroyami Fukaikuro:<strong> Glad you were excited for this chapter. Also, thanks for messaging me with your ideas. While I can't use them (like we discussed), they were really interesting.  
><strong>ShadowSnowapple:<strong> Reading your review made me smile, and for that I have to thank you.

I want to thank all of you who have followed and favorited this story. Right now the stats are 99 follows, 74 favorites, and 15005 views. That's insane! I wish I could thank each and every one of you individually! Seriously, you guys rock.

And that's everything for this chapter. I leave you with these familiar words; Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


	13. 11 - Mixed Messages

**(Ruby POV)**

"Is the entire school this beautiful?" Xion asked with sparkling eyes, drinking in Beacon Hill in all its natural glory.

Of all the places on Beacon's campus, the Beacon Hill common area had to be my favorite. The area wasn't as grand or majestic as the school's signature towers or the main entryway's looming arches, but the large circular stone fountain, lush soft grass, and towering oak trees provided a much more welcoming and laid-back vibe. It was the perfect place to sit down and talk with a new acquaintance.

I chuckled from my seat beside the girl on the edge of the fountain. "That was my first reaction too." I allowed the ambient noise of the common area to take over as I planned my words. Back in the hallway I had so much confidence, enough to drag Xion here without a second thought. But now, actually sitting next to her, I felt like a little girl lost in the dark and scary woods.

Honestly, I didn't even know for sure if she was the girl Roxas said disappeared. Yang hadn't been able to remember the girl's name, so I had just taken a chance. _Idiot,_ I mentally scolded. _What if she isn't the right person? _I sighed wishing Xion would magically disappear and be replaced by a plate of piping hot cookies. My eyes slowly glazed over, the mere thought of those sugary disks evoking a torrent of drool held back only by sheer willpower.

"You said I was the girl Roxas told you about?" Xion's voice dragged me out of my thoughts of sugary goodness and I instantly wanted to do nothing more than speed away using my semblance.

I took a deep breath and faced the girl, still shaking off the lingering notions of cookies as her intense blue eyes drilled holes through my forehead. "A-about that, Roxas never actually told me anything. He told my sister but she couldn't remember the name so I just assumed it was you but I could have been wrong." My words strung together and just kept going, speeding up as I kept talking. If there was a record for rambling, what had just come out of my mouth probably pulled a Nora, wrecked it.

It was Xion's turn to chuckle at my nervousness, her hand covering my mouth politely. "No, you were right. I'm just amazed your sister got Mr. Grumpy to talk to her. He's always been secretive, even from me." There was a wistful look in her eyes as she looked down at her hands. "Anyway," her tone suddenly became much lighter, but the warmth of her voice didn't reach her eyes. "How much do you know?"

"Not much," I admitted sheepishly, shifting on the hard stone ledge. "All I know is that you're Roxas' friend and you somehow disappeared."

Xion sighed, shaking her head sadly. "I guess he still can't accept what he did…" The heart crushing tone of the girl's voice betrayed her small smile. Despite my confusion I waited for Xion to continue, taking the cue that this was not something the girl liked to talk about. "Do you know what a Nobody is?" I nodded silently. "So you know that Roxas is a Nobody?" Again, I nodded. "Roxas' Somebody is a person called Sora. Before Roxas was born, Sora's memory was taken apart. To fix the damage he was put into a deep sleep. When Roxas was created some of those memories escaped their owner and flowed into him."

"Alright…" I said slowly. Things were getting much more complex than I had initially anticipated. Memories? Sora? Sora's memories being given to Roxas? Just how much had Roxas been through in his life and how did any of this connect to Xion? No obvious answers in sight, I returned my attention to the solemn girl.

Xion bit her lip hesitantly. "I need you to promise not to repeat anything I'm about to say." Quickly I nodded, literally on the edge of my seat as the stone bit into my thighs. "Essentially, I'm an artificial Nobody, a puppet created to mimic Sora's power. By being around Roxas some of those memories were transferred to me, allowing me to replicate the power shared by Roxas and his Somebody. Eventually I figured out those memories, ones I thought to be mine, didn't actually belong to me. I decided to return the memories to Sora." Xion closed her eyes, a pained expression on her face. "I forced Roxas to fight me and-" The girl faltered, her voice cutting out. She took another breath before resuming. "And kill me."

My eyes widened. "Roxas…killed you? But I thought you were friends."

Xion nodded sadly, absentmindedly fiddling with the button on her jacket. "I never wanted to hurt him." She snorted in disgust. "Great job on that, Xion." Her sardonic tone dripped with sarcasm. "I guess he still can't face what he did." Xion finally met my eyes. "I want to make up for the pain I caused my friend. I just want him to be happy, like he used to be, but the Roxas I saw today seemed so angry and scared." Xion stood up in front of me and held out her hand. "I think I know a way to help him, but I don't know enough about this place to do anything. That's where I need your help." _So that's why she asked about Weiss._

I grasped the raven haired girl's hand and hoisted myself to my feet. "Absolutely! I've been trying to help Roxas, but I just can't get him to open up to me." Xion smiled widely, her ocean blue eyes lighting up as bright as Beacon's central tower. "Let's go back to my dorm. We can talk more there."

This time I didn't even need drag Xion, she was immediately hot on my heels, wrapping an arm around me shoulders. "Lead the way!"

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><p><strong>(Ventus POV)<strong>

I thought I knew what it meant for two people to dislike each other. Images of heated arguments, snide comments, and free flowing insults always seemed like textbook definitions. But watching Weiss and Roxas sit next to each other in class redefined the term "mutual hatred".

There were no angry words, no degrading remarks, no verbal acknowledgement of the other's existence whatsoever. Glares devoid of anything but contempt and spite were the only type of interaction between the two. Needless to say both Roxas and Weiss had thoroughly enjoyed themselves, almost as much as sitting through another of Professor Port's self-indulgent tales.

"I can't believe her!" My twin fumed, his notebook getting steadily crushed under his right arm. "I ask for a pencil and she glares at me like I just drowned her goldfish!" Roxas roared.

"Says the guy who did nothing but scowl until Nora asked him if he was munching on a lemon," I countered, a sigh sneaking out of my lips. We had been going back and forth like this since the end of class. Roxas would complain about something Weiss did, prompting me to point out his scathing attitude toward the heiress. "Honestly, wouldn't it just be easier if you two tried talking things out? You might even find out that you're pretty similar." Roxas stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me, eyes widened and gasping overdramatically.

"What a great idea!" _Less sarcasm is would've been appreciated. _"Why didn't I think of that? " Roxas bopped himself on the forehead with the heel of his free hand. "Oh yeah, because Weiss is an arrogant child who can't admit she's done anything wrong! Besides, I'm _nothing_ like that- that," Roxas momentarily struggled for the right word. "That witch." My twin snorted in disgust and marched ahead to our room, slipping the key in the keyhole and stomping in.

Again, the only viable response was a sigh. "Are you're calling her a child. She's not the only guilty one here," I muttered, slowly following my twin.

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><p><strong>(Weiss POV)<strong>

"Geez Ice Queen, I don't think I've ever seen you this annoyed." Yang's comment seemed more out of amusement than actual concern.

Stooping to my blonde teammate's level with a petulant response was out of the question. Thus I remained silent, brooding over the actions of a different insufferable blonde.

I had endured the company of numerous different persons at my father's business dinners and meetings where I had been shown off as his personal trophy, his shining prodigy. Self-entitled sons of wealthy business tycoons, powerful businessmen with egos the size of the Schnee family fortune, and hollow-headed trophy wives and husbands. I would have gladly traded Roxas' company for any of them or worse.

Did I regret what I said about the Nobody? No, as a Schnee I had been taught to never go back on my words. Did I feel a pang of guilt each time the boy would stare daggers at me with those mirthful brilliant blue eyes? Yes and that simple fact had me ripping my hair out.

"I'm not annoyed," I huffed. "Besides, why would I care about Roxas?"

"Nobody said anything about him." Blake flipped the page of her book as she continued to smoothly stride down the hall. "So apparently you do."

Yang nodded wisely in concurrence. "Seriously Ice Queen, as the only person who's actually talked to the kid, he's not a bad guy. I bet if you two actually sat down and got to know each other you'd get along fine." Yang grinned mischievously. "Maybe even better than fine, if you catch my drift."

I couldn't help but scoff. "Me and that _thing_?" My stomach twisted as the word left my mouth. The sour taste it left in my mouth was undeniable. "There's a greater chance of Ruby melting down Crescent Rose for scrap metal." The three of us had just reached our dorm room and Yang was in the process of unlocking the door. "Speaking of our dimwitted leader, where is she? I do not approve of her cutting classes like this."

Yang only shrugged as she nudged the door open. "I dunno. Maybe she-" The boxer never got the chance to finish her sentence.

"Guys!" The high-pitched voice emanating from within the dorm could only belong to our team leader. My assumption proved accurate upon crossing the threshold, Ruby smiling from her bed as an unfamiliar black haired girl stood from her seat beside our leader to greet the three of us. The unfamiliar girl smiled sweetly, her gaze seemingly focused on me.

"Hi, my name's Xion. You're Weiss, right?" She asked, her question directed toward me. I could only nod silently, my teammates watching the exchange silently. "I'm sorry to bother you, but could we talk for a little? I think you might be able to help me with a particular problem."

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><p>AN: That brings chapter 11 to a close. I wanted to write more for this chapter, but time constraints convinced me otherwise. In other words, sorry for the short chapter.<p>

We finally see some progression toward a coherent plot, which is a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. The characters just do not want to cooperate and trying to write dialogue has been a lot less…natural than usual. I think I might just need to write more often to become reacquainted with m y own characters and tone.

Anyway, would anyone be interested in being a beta-reader/editor for this story? I'm generally pretty bad with editing so I'm constantly looking for someone to help with that in terms of grammar and content. If you're interested shoot me a PM or let me know in a review. Now, time for the reviews.

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: **My interpretation of Xion is based of a fanfic called Law of Proximal Attraction by Redeeming Endeavor, in which Xion is that "annoying best friend who messes with you, but you still love to death". While I do tone her down a bit, that's pretty much how she'll act. As for what Xion will tell Ruby, you say that in this chapter and might see more next chapter. Finally will Xion get in trouble with Roxas? *Evil grin* How could I pass up an opportunity so potentially hilarious?**  
>Kamen Rider Sting:<strong> Thanks for the kind words and the explanation. But no, Xion and Roxas will not be shipped in this story except in terms of a friend-ship. See what I did there? Yeah, it was pretty bad.**  
>Kuroyami Fukaikuro: <strong>Yeah I could have done that, but it would have just been prolonging the inevitable. Anyway, sorry about another short chapter.**  
>ImSoAwesome:<strong> Thank you so much for the compliment! I've seen your story before but I've never checked it out. I'll have to do that now.**  
>luke shadowrider: <strong>Thanks for the confirmation. And yes, Weiss is not my favorite. For that matter, is she anyone's favorite?**  
>ThePsychoPath96: <strong>Possibly. It'll take a while to reach that point though.**  
>Roxasstorm: <strong>Longer stories definitely have their advantages, so I agree with you there. So far I've only planned one pair in this story, so there will not be much dating. Also, I'm sad to say I've decided against have Axel in this story. He's a great character but it just wouldn't make sense for him to show up.**  
>Darkmoonrise312: <strong>First, thank you for the kind words! Character interaction is my strong suit so I really pride myself on it. And yes, as you pointed out, I need to work on and practice better ways to introduce character descriptions. Second, the fact that you hate Weiss right now is great. I never really liked her, so making her a main character and trying to change peoples' opinions is going to be a fun little challenge. Also, feel free to rant if you like, I enjoy hearing how other people view a character. Finally (and arguably most importantly), three cheers for Arkada! His reviews are the absolute best when it comes to anime.

That's it for this chapter. Until next time; Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


	14. 12 - When It Begins

AN: So…um…I'm not dead… Jeez, seven months without an update. That's a really depressing record. Anywho, I hope this chapter at least starts to make up for that. A lot of credit goes to BackslashEcho, a much better writer than myself, who will be beta-ing for me. He helped immensely with this chapter to make it what you are reading, by which I mean coherent. His stories are definitely worth a read, so check 'em out! And now, allow me to proudly present chapter twelve of I Am Me.

Let's jam.

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><p><strong>(Ruby POV)<strong>

To say Weiss clings to her opinions is like saying Professor Oobleck likes a cup of coffee: it's so understated it becomes completely meaningless. There was a _very_ good reason Yang nicknamed her "Ice Queen"; Weiss was proud by nature, and brought up to be both haughty and more than a little sarcastic—a very frustrating combination to interact with at all, much less to try to change her mind. I knew all this so well by now that it didn't occur to me until it was too late that I probably should have given Xion a better warning about what she was getting into.

It seemed to go well enough, at first. Xion introduced herself politely. Clearly caught by surprise, Weiss managed a civil response before she folded her arms across her chest and began scrutinizing Xion closely. Time seemed to compress for a moment—Weiss' face a picture of suspicion, while the Nobody maintained her delicate smile. Something about that smile—something in the ease with which it was conjured and the utter absence of the expected warmth—was just…unsettling.

And it hit me: I had seen that smile before. It was Roxas' smile: a perfect, practiced, joyous mask of what happiness should look like, but behind it there was no real emotion whatsoever.

Yang and Blake made a valiant effort to break the tension by offering their own names, but Xion's eyes never left Weiss', and the partners quickly excused themselves to their respective beds, no doubt hoping to go unnoticed. Chewing my knuckle nervously, I followed suit, kipping up beside Yang and leaving Xion and Weiss to their own devices. I was tempted to leave entirely, but decided I ought to remain vigilant in case Xion needed backup. Likely following some lesson of decorum her upbringing demanded, Weiss dragged a chair to the edge of her bed and invited Xion to sit. That's when the fun began.

"So," the heiress began, eyes narrowing instinctively. "What brings you to Beacon? Am I correct in assuming you're a new transfer student?" It was a fair assessment based on the recent trend, with the two boys appearing out of thin air and becoming students within three days.

Xion nodded, still with that empty smile. "Oh yes, from Mistral," she lied fluently. "I actually just transferred today from a small private institution called the Thirteenth Order—you may not have heard of it. It was a very old academy and there just weren't enough funds or faculty to keep the doors open." Her tone was perfectly casual, with no falter or stumble to betray the falsehood. How had she come up with all that so easily? "Beacon seems like a much more wonderfully _diverse_ place."

Weiss gave a frozen smile herself, suddenly an eerie mirror of the dark-haired girl before her. "Oh, without a doubt. This is one of the most prestigious academies in the world, after all…"

The pair continued like that for a while. They seemed—appropriately enough considering Weiss' weapon of choice—as if they were fencing with their words. Xion was leading the conversation, flitting from subject to meaningless subject while trying to gauge the heiress' nature and the reasons behind her tension with Roxas. Weiss, meanwhile, kept up her half of the discussion easily, but was clearly at a loss as to who exactly this new girl really was, what she could possibly want, or where their talk was leading.

"Geez, this girl's talking circles around our Ice Queen," Yang whispered in my ear. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Yang shot me a suspicious glance at my silence, but quickly turned back to the two girls.

"Why did you decide to attend our academy?" Weiss was on the offensive now. "If you're from Mistral, why didn't you attend Haven Academy?"

"I heard a rumor a while back," Xion began, lowering her voice as if she were sharing a secret. "This may not be true, but I heard that two boys wielding odd, key shaped swords appeared here a little while ago." Weiss' posture stiffened noticeably. "I once knew a boy like that; he's how I got this." A noise akin to the metallic hiss of an unusual sword being drawn rang out, and a swirl of light revealed a sword suddenly in Xion's hand. A roaring silence filled the room for a moment. The hiss sounded again as the blade vanished and Xion's soft voice resumed. "He used to visit me sometimes, but then he just…disappeared." Xion paused again. "I'd very much like to see him again."

_It's just an act. Just an act, _I reminded myself, clenching and unclenching fistfuls of Yang's bedsheets. But it sounded so real—the pain in her voice; the hopelessness, the air of defeat. She's an 'artificial Nobody', to use her words, but what did that really mean? If she can sound so wounded and miserable, is she really any different from anyone else?

A nudge from Yang dragged me out of my thoughts. "Another key-shaped sword, huh?" she murmured next to my ear. "Think she could be talking about Roxas and Ven?" Before I could answer, she loudly cleared her throat to catch the attention of the two girls below. "Your name's Xion, right?" The black hair girl nodded docilely. "This guy you're talking about…his name wouldn't happen to be Ventus or Roxas, would it?"

"He's really here?" The excitement in Xion's voice was palpable. "You guys know Roxas?"

Weiss' loud huff brought the other girl back to reality. "Yes, we do," she declared darkly. "What about him?"

I heard Xion shift in her chair. Now she was getting a look of what she was up against. "It sounds like you're already acquainted," Xion joked, reverting to her lighthearted tone.

Weiss cleared her throat uncomfortably. "You may not know this boy as well as you think. He said himself that he's a Nobody, something that's not even supposed to exist." Her morose tone seemed unfitting of her words. It sounded more like she was relaying the news of Roxas' death.

Again, Xion just chuckled and donned her fake smile. "I didn't think anyone else knew what a Nobody is. Well, I guess the secret's out." At Weiss' incredulous look, Xion continued tentatively, "Is…that such a big deal? He's all right if you actually get to know him."

"Sit down and get to know him? He has no heart!"

"Neither do some businessmen, but no one seems to throw a fuss." It was a low blow even if Xion didn't realize it, but it did the trick. Weiss jerked back as if she had been slapped and Xion took the opening. "Honestly, just talk to him a bit and he won't seem too bad."

"Absolutely not!"

Suddenly Xion was losing ground fast. She may have been putting up a good fight, but she was lacking the final punch to break through the heiress' wall. Weiss got up to leave. There was no time to think, just act.

"Weiss, as team leader, I order you to…show Roxas around Vale!" Yeah, that would work. Far enough from the school that they can't just retreat to their dorms and the city's big enough to give them at least two hours together! Another point to the Ruby-meister!

"Oh?" Weiss challenged. "This command has no relevance to any training, assignment, or class, so what is forcing me-"

"I'll have you put on stand by." There it was—my trump card. Sure, Weiss was going to give me a piece of her mind later, but I've endured the heiress' ire before. This was a chance to finally change how Weiss thought, to get her to be more accepting. What kind of leader would I be if I didn't grab that opportunity?

Weiss' expression was beyond angry, it was downright murderous. "Ruby Rose, I swear you will regret this decision," she seethed, letting the threat hang in the air.

"Great!" Xion cheered, her face the very picture of fabricated joy. "It's a date!"

I received another dirty glare from Weiss.

* * *

><p><strong>(Roxas POV)<strong>

"Where the _hell_ is she?!"

"Roxas, slow down!" Ventus yelled, following close on my tail.

This could not be happening. This could _NOT _be happening. I leave her alone for thirty minutes, _THIRTY MINUTES_, and she disappears into thin air! What if she tried using a Dark Corridor? Or if a horde of shadows attacked? Or—Kingdom Hearts forbid—someone found out she's a Nobody?

And to think I had been so excited to return to the dorm, going so far as to sprint out of class as the bell had just begun to ring. Instead of my best friend sitting on my bed waiting—_like I had asked_I found an empty room and Ventus' extra blazer missing. It hadn't taken Vexen's reconnaissance training for me to figure out what had happened; Xion got bored and decided to explore, stealing Ven's coat to use as a cover. But she didn't know the layout of the school, and without a Scroll I couldn't communicate with her like I could with Ven.

"Damn it!" I growled, dashing back out of the room. How could I have let her out of my sight like that? Idiot!

"Roxas?" Xion's confused voice stopped me dead in my tracks. Of course she was here, walking down the hall without a care in the world, staring at me like I was the stupid one. "What're you doing running around like that? You're going to hurt someone."

My mouth opened only to close again, looking like a fish out of water. There was nothing I could possibly say to this girl. Ven choose that moment to step in, walking up beside me. "So you're the famous Xion. It's nice to finally meet you. The name's Ventus, but you can call me Ven."

"It's a pleasure." Xion smiled genuinely. "Roxas, it's not nice to glare." _And it's not nice to scare me half to death, but you did that anyway._ "Could you guys show me the way back to your room? I'm a little lost."

That was the last straw. "You don't say!" The frustration and anxiety were uncontainable. I stormed toward Xion and grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip. "This is _not_ a mission." Each syllable came out harsh and pronounced through my grit teeth. "You can't just wander around and RTC when you're in a bind. Remember what Vexen said, 'we run a covert operation'." Xion stared at me with an indiscernible expression. "Stay inconspicuous and trust _no one_ here."

A harsh silence hung over the walk back to the dorm. Xion would glance up at me every now and then, careful to avoid my eyes. Ven trailed a little behind us, rolling his own eyes but keeping his thoughts to himself. My hand was still tight on Xion's wrist as I stomped back down the hall.

…What the hell was wrong with me?

This place was changing me. 'Trust no one'? Had those words really come from _me_? And what gave me the right to yell at Xion? Beacon had me feeling on-edge all the time. I was sure that RWBY and JNPR had pegged me as a monster… Maybe—in that void where my heart should've been—I had started to believe them?

The atmosphere in the dorm was no better than it had been during our walk. Ven finally greeted the female keyblade wielder and helped her to get settled in terms of sleeping arrangements as the setting sun painted the walls red. All the while I sat on my bed, attempting to study Ven's notes from Oobleck's lesson today. The red was quickly transitioning to the pale white glow of the moon.

Ven was the first to turn in for the night, followed soon after by Xion, who crawled under the covers of my bed. We'd bunked together on missions in the past, on the rare occasions they lasted more than more than a day, so I didn't think anything of it. My eyes drank in the features of her peaceful face, committing them to memory. It was painfully like relearning a long forgotten skill. Memories of Xion had only begun to return upon arriving in Remnant, and the simple act of remembering had been more painful than forgetting. The initial loss of those memories had been instantaneous and indiscernible. But each regained memory had been a slap in the face, a reminder of events that I had promised would always stay with me. It was almost unbearable.

"Roxas?" Xion's voice was soft and timid, barely audible over Ven's gentle snoring. After a grunt of acknowledgement from me, she continued. "I'm sorry." She said nothing more as she curled further into her blanket, making me cringe with guilt.

"It wasn't your fault." Ven snorted in his sleep before stilling. "I've just been a little on edge lately. The people here have been somewhat less than welcoming." I huffed bitterly. "Did you at least see anything interesting while you were ignoring my request to stay put?" It was a small jab, but it was a step in the right direction; chiseling a hole in my defenses to joke around.

Xion hummed thoughtfully. "I met a girl in a red hood. She was really nice and even introduced me to her friends." She paused. "I think her name was Ruby."

"Got it memorized?" I joked, eliciting a muted chuckle. We enjoyed a moment of relaxed silence for a moment before I spoke up and soured it. "You didn't tell them—"

"No." And with that, the at-ease mood returned.

I rolled over onto my back, staring up at the white ceiling illuminated by the shattered moon outside. "Think Axel would've liked this place?" I asked.

"I think he would've."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The beds are comfy. He would've been in paradise."

I snorted loudly, laying back and resting my head on my hands. "You have no idea how happy I am you're here."

A ghost of a smile painted Xion's lips. "We'll see about that in the morning."

* * *

><p>Axel once told me that days off are 'like love letters from the higher-ups'. A full twenty-four hours of unstructured, uninterrupted freedom to do as one pleases. Given the rarity of such days, Organization members learned to value such respites. Many amongst our ranks opted train against the Dusks in the Hall of Empty Memories. Others would gather in the Grey Area to play cards and unwind. The more senior members—Xemnas, Xigbar, and Saïx—would often meet in the Round Room or Where Nothing Gathers to discuss the Organization's progress; those not participating in any of the aforementioned activities would most likely be sleeping in their rooms or killing time in a different world. Those were some of my fondest memories from the organization—not that I had many other fond memories from that time—wasting away the hours of perpetual twilight in Twilight Town with Axel and Xion.<p>

When Ven told me that we get two days off each week here at Beacon, I was beyond ecstatic. Forty-eight hours to do whatever I wanted? Sign me up. I'd planned my first "weekend" the second I heard about it. The town below the school—I vaguely remembered someone calling it "Vale"—seemed like a great place to start. Supposedly it was larger than Twilight Town and its commercial district exemplified that fact. Finding an ice cream shop in a place like that should be relatively easy.

The town—no, city—was impressive, but somewhat run of the mill. Aside from the holographic amenities such as street lamps and traffic signals very little stood out. The vast majority of the buildings were no more than four stories tall, much shorter than Memory's Skyscraper in the World That Never Was, and were built from beige or pale bricks. However, unlike that perpetually-empty city, the people here made the landscape come to life. Pedestrians littered the sidewalks and street-side restaurants and cars zipped down the streets, filling the air with the buzz of conversation and the roar of engines. I could have spent all day crowd-watching, gazing at the various humans and faunus as they went about their daily business.

"Well, are you coming or are you going to stand there all morning?" Weiss demanded hotly, a deep scowl evident on her features. "Quit staring, it makes you look daft," she added bitterly as my eyes narrowed of their own volition.

Joy, there be thy anchor.

Xion had not been joking when she told me to wait until morning to voice my opinion of her. Upon stepping out of my dorm I was ambushed by the icy white haired girl who, with one of the most disgusted expressions I had ever seen, invited me to tour Vale.

"This is my first time in this city," I ground out slowly, standing my ground. "I'm allowed to take in the scenery." Weiss muttered something that could have been 'then make it snappy', but I took a calming breath and ignored it. Behind us someone giggled, causing me to glare over my shoulder. "Remind me again why the hell they're tagging along."

Yang waved jovially and Ven flashed a grin. "I'm just here to make sure you two lovebirds don't skip out on your date." Despite my murderous glare, Yang maintained her cheerful demeanor. Yeah, she was definitely enjoying this.

Beside her, Ven shrugged.

"Free entertainment." _Up yours, Ven._

"Wonderful." _Deep breaths, Roxas._ At least Weiss looked as angry about it as I was.

I took a moment to review my situation. Location: Vale, an unfamiliar city of which I don't yet know the layout. Company: Ventus and Yang, who would likely be no help and only act as (extremely annoying) observers; and Weiss, a girl who had been nothing but antagonistic to me and was apparently being forced to spend time with me. Reason: Unknown, but safe to assume Xion had a hand in this. Conclusion: Keep your damn mouth shut and don't make this worse than it already was; try to be civil and see where that gets you.

"Where are we going?" It sounded like someone had a gun to my head, if the look of confusion rather than contempt from Weiss was any indication. "If at all possible, could we look for an ice cream shop?" _Please kill me._

"We're going to the center of Vale," Weiss announced slowly, as if unsure with how to react to my complete change in tone. "Now if you could stop your gawking, we might be able to finish this quickly and be rid of each other." _No complaints there._ Again, Ven and Yang exchanged a few quiet words followed by equally quiet chuckling.

My teeth ground together as I fought to remain silent. Between Weiss' less than veiled aggression and Tweedledee and Tweedledum bringing up the rear, it was going to be a _very_ frustrating Saturday afternoon. So much for my lazy Saturday.

* * *

><p>AN: And there it is. We see a little more of the main plot I hinted at. I assume many of you either know or have a very good idea of the direction this story is taking and I hope you all enjoy it. It'll be a little divergent from my usual style, but that should give me a chance to develope.<p>

Now, how about I shut up and respond to some reviews? And holy crap there are A LOT (18 to be exact). Since it's been seven months, you might want to look at the reviews to remember what your question/comment/concern was.

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: **And wonder you shall until I get my act together! But in all honesty, thank you so much for the support. You're super consistent in reviewing and I really appreciate it.

**ShadowSnowdapple: **Thanks for the kind words! And...um...happy...new year? I'm really sorry about how long you've had to wait for this chapter.

**Lorion: **Thanks for telling me about that mistake; I went back and changed it. Also...maybe…(looks away shiftily).

**darkmoonrise312: **C'mon dude, that was my favorite line from Xigbar in 358/2 Days! Thanks so much for the praise. Yes, you are most certainly correct that Ruby should have reacted more to what Xion told her, but I guess I just screwed up. Sorry 'bout that. Thanks for the awesome review!

**lioncousin: **I'm glad you liked the chapter! In response to your comment...I plead the fifth.

**Kuroyami Fukaikuro: **My good sir, nitpicky they may be, but accurate and helpful they most certainly are... I'm very tired. Thanks for all the support and if I ever screw something up, let me know that I'm an idiot.

**Guest:** I definitely agree with you and hope to learn more about Weiss. And hooray for RWBY Volume 3 (which was recently announced to be in production). However, I have never seen Frozen. Thank you so much for the review! [**Editor's note:** 'Fixer-Upper' was a song from Frozen. Also, your humble editor is a huge Weiss fan, and acting as the author's consultant on our favorite Ice Queen.]

**Taenaiea: **Thanks! Glad you're enjoying the story!

**Ultimate Black Ace:** First of all, thanks for the multiple reviews! Everything you brought up was extremely valid. Honestly, I'm still undecided about Roxas' dual wielding ability. However, I'm leaning toward having him keep his Synch Blade ability, as it is his trademark. It'll take some major fussing on my part, but I'll work on bringing it back. Maybe Sora will make another appearance. Also, thank you so much for suggesting Lost Memory for Xion's keyblade, I completely forgot about that weapon but it fits so well. So my good sir (or madam) all credit goes to you on that call. Thanks for showing some interest and for the awesome suggestion! [**Editor's note:** In reference to the Corridors, control of Darkness or not, Roxas would need his Black Coat to travel it safely (they provide the same protection as the Armour did for Ven & Co. in BbS), and he wasn't wearing it when he was going to storm out.]

**Webb360: **While I'm still undecided about the whole dual-wielding thing, a sidearm might be cool, though slightly unnecessary. Roxas is pretty proficient with magic based on him using Thundaga during the spar with Cardin. Anywho, thanks for the multiple reviews! [**Editor's note:** You do bring up a good point about the concentration of Keyblades up at Beacon, though. The Heartless hate and fear them, so they try extra hard to take the Wielders' hearts. Hmmm…]

**DualWieldUltimateRoxas: **Certainly! It just might, y'know, take me a few months to get to it. =I

**BackslashEcho: **Thanks for helping me out dude! I really appreciate having you as my beta-reader for this story!

**Stormblade: **Yeah, Xion might look good in purple. I already have an outfit picked out for Ventus (look at the picture "Ventus" by dorkynoodle on Deviantart). I'm not really sure why everyone agrees that Roxas' underwear should be black, but I'm not one to argue. Anywho, thanks for the review!

**Blind seer of fortune: **I'm so sorry about the update drought. I was finishing up my junior year of high school so with SATs, ACTs, college visits, not failing my classes, studying for finals, and working on my college essay, I didn't have as much time to write as I would've liked. That's no excuse, I know, and I'm truly very sorry. I'll update again as soon as possible. Thank you for showing some interest in my humble work!

And those were all the reviews I received in my seven months of absence. Again, I am very sorry about how god awful I am with updating; you all deserve a much shorter wait.

_Final editor's note: Hi all; BackslashEcho here. The moral of my presence is, beware of open-ended offers of aid when you leave reviews. You might end up beta-reading a story…but then again, you might end up inspiring an author whose work you enjoyed to pick the story up again. C'est la vie._

Thanks to all of you for sticking with me. Just because it makes me smile, I want to share the stats for this story. **Followers: **152. **Favorites:** 112. **Views: **23,703. Seriously, you guys make my head explode. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart! And without further ado, until next time.

Read, Rate, and Review. Rinse and Repeat.

-Ventusblade


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